Ying Yang Fox: The Fire Daimyo's Harbinger
by VFSNAKE
Summary: A Daimyo shouldn't be weak. He should be strong. His subordinates should be too. After discovering the truth kept from him about a certain blonde boy, the Feudal Lord decides to change things, and make his life be for the better. Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-The Discovery

Today was a special day for the Leaf. The Fire Daimyo was in Konoha, touring it with his bodyguards, and a few select Shinobi appointed by the Sandaime Hokage himself. The tour was a routine check by the Daimyo to see the progress of the Leaf, how it had grown since Kyuubi's sudden attack seven years ago, and the overall status of the village the Feudal Lord had invested in like his Father along with his Father's own Father years ago. The man wasn't scrawny like some of his fellow Daimyos, who had inherited their positions, and done nothing to improve themselves. This Fire Daimyo, as with his Father, and Grandfather before him had trained themselves to be in peak fighting condition. The reliance of Shinobi was not something the Fire Daimyo liked to consider regardless of how cost effective using them over maintaining an army of samurai. Still, the resources put into Konoha had helped greatly in the long run, and had put a great deal of effort into balancing out funding both.

At the moment, the routine inspection was going well, which was to be expected given the current track record, and yet for the Fire Daimyo it seemed so..._boring_! The routine inspection was so..._routine_! A bow from a person here. A smile there. No real chaos like back when Uzumaki Kushina was around pulling pranks on people. Oh how the Fire Daimyo missed that when he traveled with his Father on some occasions and silently wished it would happen now.

Strange how Kami answers one's silent unspoken prayers.

"GET BACK HERE DEMON!" yelled a Chuunin chasing a blonde haired boy, who was currently being pursued, and chased by several other Shinobi of equal rank.

"Why? So you can just beat me like you did last week?" said the blonde boy, as he dove through a hole in a fence, and smirked while running after hearing the loud "BANG! that followed from the lead Shinobi hitting the fence.

"Get him! Cut the Uzumaki brat off," said another Chuunin in pursuit of the blonde.

'Did I hear the name Uzumaki in connection to that boy? Curious. The Sandaime told me there were no other Uzumaki in existence after Kushina's death. How her child she was expecting died when Kyuubi attacked before the Yondaime could defeat it,' thought the Fire Daimyo, as he saw the Shinobi pursuing the blonde _apparent _Uzumaki, and what caught his eye was some of the Chuunin had kunai in hand like they were going to hurt the child.

But for what purpose? Why would Leaf Shinobi use such weapons on a child?

"Daimyo-sama, excuse this sudden surprise, and interruption of your inspection. I assure you the demon brat will be punished accordingly and brought before the Sandaime to face justice," said one of the Leaf Shinobi assigned to the escort.

"No. That's all right. Seeing that brought back some interesting and fond memories. Tell me, why do you call the boy 'demon brat' like the others, and why did one of them call the child 'Uzumaki' for that matter?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Shinobi stiffen and look nervous.

"We can't say Daimyo-sama. We are under orders from the Hokage under a law he made to not reveal the reason," said another Leaf Shinobi of Jounin rank.

"I see. And that law includes me? Are you saying the Daimyo of Fire Country cannot be told due to this law?" said the Fire Daimyo while looking intently at the Leaf Shinobi that had just spoken.

"No! I-I mean yes! I mean...I don't know Daimyo-sama," said the Jounin, as he knew the law the Sandaime made was to keep the children from know about the fox, but to use it against the _Fire Daimyo_ was totally unexpected, and _unheard of_ in terms of keeping such information from the only man higher in rank then the Hokage!

"It doesn't matter. Let's continue with the inspection," said the Fire Daimyo in a sudden cold tone that told the Leaf Shinobi he was not pleased.

With the Leaf Shinobi walking in front of him, the Fire Daimyo made a hand motion, and brought one of his samurai close to him to lean forward. After whispering silently to the man an order, the samurai nodded, and discreetly left the escort to carry out the order of his Daimyo.

The tone in which the Feudal Lord spoke indicated the order was to be carried out now or die later.

(Elsewhere)

"Get back here brat!" said one of the Chuunin chasing the boy while mentally cursing at letting the kid out of his sight for one whole second despite the Hokage's orders to keep the boy away from the Fire Daimyo.

"Go kiss a dog!" said Naruto, as he dodged a kunai thrown at him, and several shuriken his pursers launched.

"Damn that Kyuubi brat! I'm going to enjoy skinning him alive!" said one Chuunin, as he wished his weapons made contact, and make the boy cry out in pain.

"Get in line!" said the other Chuunin knowing he was going to beat the boy bloody for disobeying them in staying in his room.

They soon tracked the boy to an alley and found him unable to escape them. Grinning at their sudden victory, the group of Chuunin grabbed the boy, who now struggled to get free, but the Chuunin were far from civil, as they beat the boy, and calling him names. They knew the boy would heal up. That any injury given would vanish within a few mere minutes and any complaint the boy made to the Hokage would fall on deaf ear since there would be no proof of such abuse.

"Anything to say before we drag you to the Hokage?" said one Chuunin, who gave the boy a hard kick to the ribs, and glared hatefully at the child.

"Bite me!" said Naruto before he was kicked again in the face.

"Insolent demon! We allow you to live in this village out of the graces of our hearts and all we ask is you obey like the good pet you're suppose to be while living in Konoha. The very fact you live is an insult to the Yondaime Hokage, but we tolerate you because the Sandaime wishes it, and tolerate your existence," said another Chuunin taking out a kunai and about to give the boy a few well deserved stabs knowing they could make up some story later.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a voice behind the group of Chuunin seeing them turn in his direction.

"Who are you?" said the Chuunin with the kunai in hand.

"I am a samurai under the command of the Fire Daimyo. In his name, you are all hereby ordered to stand down, and move away from the injured child," said the samurai with the Chuunin sneering at him.

"You? Ordering _us_? You samurai think you're all hot shit because you work for the Fire Daimyo, but one samurai against five of us is suicide, and this..._creature_ is not worth your life. Go back to the Daimyo and tell him this is not his concern," said one Chuunin while the samurai narrowed his eyes at them.

"This is your one and only warning Konoha Shinobi. I will not give you a second one for I will kill you in this alley," said the samurai with the five Chuunin looking angrily at him with their intention of hurting the blonde now aimed it at their new target.

"I highly doubt that samurai. I say we kill this nosy fool, blame the Kyuubi brat, and see the Fire Daimyo order the monster is killed!" said one of the other Chuunin, as they now charged the samurai, who held his ground, and quickly killed the group of Shinobi in a decisive manner befitting a man of his skills before sheathing his blade.

Just because Konoha was knowing seven years of peace didn't mean the Fire Daimyo's samurai would become weak from it like these Shinobi clearly did. The one thing the samurai did in times of peace that Shinobi did not was prepare for war and keep the mind along with the body sharp in the event war breaks out for any reason.

"Why?" said Naruto seeing the samurai turn to look at him.

"Why what?" said the samurai when walking over to the child.

"Why did you save me? No one has ever done that before today?" said Naruto seeing the man look at him with surprise.

"What do you mean? This isn't the first attack aimed at you?" said the samurai before he kneeled down in front of the boy.

"This is minor compared to the usual ones. The worst ones are on my birthday. Don't tell the old man I told you this!" said Naruto pleadingly.

"Why would you not want the Hokage to know about my knowing of this action?" said the samurai while alarm bells were ringing off in the back of his head.

"If old man Hokage finds out that I told anyone outside the village about this, he will hate me since I'm putting Konoha in a bad light, and I don't...I don't want to be hated anymore by anyone," said Naruto with the samurai's anger rising from this news.

"I see. Don't worry little one. I agree with you. We will keep this incident a secret from the Hokage for now, _but_ I need you to come with me to meet someone very important, and interested in meeting you," said the samurai seeing joy fill the boy's bright blue eyes at meeting someone important.

"Really? Who is it? Is it the Fire Daimyo you mentioned working for?" said Naruto with a sense of eagerness while seeing the samurai smile at him.

"Yes I am. You're very smart for a boy your age," said the samurai knowing few would remember such thing and even fewer after getting their head kicked in.

Was the boy's injuries healing already? What was going on?

"I try to learn given how...," said Naruto before looking away to hide the sadness on his face.

"Given how people treat you? They don't want you to learn, do they little one?" said the samurai with the boy unable to look him in the eyes.

"I can't say. If old man Hokage finds out I'm saying even this much to anyone...," said Naruto while trying to hold back his tears in front of the samurai.

"I understand. Don't worry though. Like I said, you are not going to meet with the Third Hokage, and we'll make sure this incident isn't revealed to him until much later when the time is right that its okay for him to know. What's your name?" said the samurai seeing the boy look a bit lost for a second, but that was to be expected from a seven year old, and just needed the right teachers.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and someday I'm going to be the strongest person to ever live!" said Naruto with fire in his eyes and the samurai let out a chuckle.

"Well Uzumaki Naruto, I can say without a doubt that you are well on your way, and I am sure the Fire Daimyo would agree," said the samurai, as he took picked up the boy, and moved quickly to the destination of the Daimyo's carriage where he was ordered to keep the boy until they departed from Konoha.

Personally, the samurai was more then pleased to leave the village, and couldn't wait to get out of here.

(Fire Country Capital-Sometime Later)

Naruto had fallen asleep while waiting to meet the Fire Daimyo in his carriage, which was fine with the samurai assigned to get, and watch over him. The Fire Daimyo didn't mind either after his loyal warrior told him what he witnessed and how the Sandaime Hokage was involved on some level with the child's abuse. It made the Feudal Lord's blood boil at hearing the boy being beaten, called names, and the fact the child was an _Uzumaki_ out of all children in Konoha made the man furious!

When Naruto awoke from his slumber, he found himself in a comfortable bed, in a place that was very nice, and wondered what he had done to _deserve _this special treatment! He didn't prank anyone in Konoha...well not _recently _anyway and Naruto doubted such an act would get him in the good graces of anyone like the Fire Daimyo. Unless the Feudal Lord was a prank enthusiast though something told Naruto that pranking Fire Daimyo or anyone close to him was not a wise move for himself.

A knock at the door and a maid popped her head in to see him.

"Oh Naruto-san you're awake! You must have been really tired. The Daimyo is expecting you soon," said the maid, as she walked in, and saw the boy's eyes widen in realization of what the samurai told him.

"He is? Oh no! What do I do?" said Naruto in a panicky voice, acting like any normal panicking child would do in his situation, and looking around frantically for a means to counter this situation with the maid just letting out a giggle.

"Calm down Naruto-san. The Daimyo won't be angry with you for wanting to look your best in his presence. I've come here to help you get ready to meet him," said the maid, as she saw Naruto look at her with surprise, and hope that he had a chance to make a good impression on the only person outranking the Hokage.

"Really? Thank you!" said Naruto happily.

"Your welcome Naruto-san. My name is Kikyo. First, I'm going to get your bath ready, and one of my fellow maids will come in with a fresh set of clothes for you to wear after we're done," said the maid having a son of her own at Naruto's age.

"You're going to help me with my bath Kikyo-chan?" said Naruto suddenly surprised that she would help him since _no one_ helped the boy when at the orphanage with anything.

"Of course. It is my duty. Besides, I have a boy roughly your age, and him bathing alone is not something a responsible adult should do," said Kikyo with a smile and helped the boy to the nearby bathroom where the bath was setup.

(Fire Daimyo's Office-Sometime Later)

The Fire Daimyo looked at the boy sitting across from him, looking nervous while trying at the same time to be respectful, and not fidget in his presence. Not easy to do with a seven year old filled with energy and even more difficult when the child is an Uzumaki. It was clear Naruto had questions about things, but knew better then to ask things right away, and was waiting for regal man to speak. The boy was smart for his age despite the evidence of his education being next to nothing while possibly being given just enough of a basic education to read, write, and speak when such a task would be required of him.

"You have questions young one. Ask them and I will answer to the best of my ability," said the Fire Daimyo calmly to the boy.

"First, I want to thank you, and the samurai responsible for saving me. He said you were interested in speaking to me and if it wasn't for him...," said Naruto unable to finish the sentence.

"I'm firmly against child cruelty Naruto-san. Something the Sandaime Hokage is not or only in certain..._cases_," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto frown a bit.

"The old man isn't bad. He's taken care of me for the most part when possible due to his busy schedule," said Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding to indulge the boy though his mind thought differently given what had happened to the child with the incident being one among many.

"Being Hokage is tiresome just like it is being Daimyo. Still, with such a title like our, we have subordinates, who are given orders, and must be followed to the letter. Though for a Shinobi of the Leaf has to do it in two ways. One, the order must not be treasonous to the Leaf, as well as against the Hokage running Konoha, and on a higher level...against me," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the boy nod with some understanding.

"So those Shinobi that attacked me were committing acts of treason?" said Naruto seeing the Feudal Lord nod.

"As well as several other laws of this land in which I rule. Tell me Naruto-san, how many attacks have you suffered while living in the Leaf?" said the Fire Daimyo curiously and the boy stiffened.

"I...I can't say," said Naruto seeing the man close his eyes for a moment in thought.

"You don't have to since my samurai responsible for rescuing you earlier told me it was more then just that one incident he witnessed. Some were even worse on your birthday, correct?" said the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding slowly.

"Yes sir," said Naruto while the Fire Daimyo looked at him with those piercing soul searching eyes.

"Do you know why? I'm sure you've asked the Hokage why they attack you, right?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto nod.

"I have, but...the old man told me I was too young to understand, and would explain it to me one day," said Naruto seeing the Feudal Lord's eyes harden.

'I bet he did. Beat any sense of right and wrong out of the boy so when he was told there would be no resistance in his mind. Damn you Sarutobi!' thought the Fire Daimyo before refocusing on the curious and yet cautious boy.

"Do you know why I am hated?" said Naruto seeing the man's eyes soften now.

"I have a theory Naruto. Though I need to time to gather evidence before I can confirm it and tell you if its even true," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto nod.

"What about my parents? The villagers said hateful things about them. Calling my Mom bad names I shouldn't repeat, as well as something about my dad too, but the Hokage told me they were great people in Konoha, and yet...he wouldn't tell me who they were. Do you know who they are? You're the most important person in the land and would know who they are...right?" said Naruto with the Fire Daimyo's blood now boiling with rage at hearing this knew piece of information.

"I do know who your parents are Naruto. Whatever mean things they say about them and the names they are called are not correct. Far from it. They were great people and heroes of the Leaf. I don't know why the Sandaime didn't tell you who they are, but he should have done that, and more importantly he should have told _me_ you were alive," said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw Naruto looking at him curiously, and with hope in knowing the names of his parents.

"You know who they are? Can you tell me? Please Daimyo-sama! I won't ask anything of you if this one wish could be granted. Please tell me who my parents were!" said Naruto getting on the floor and bowing to the shocked man.

"Rise child. I do not wish to see the son of my two close personal friends bowing to me in this manner," said the Fire Daimyo before walking around his desk and now kneeling before this child with tears running down his whiskered face.

"Who were they? Please tell me," said Naruto seeing the Feudal Lord nod.

"Your parents names were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Your Father was the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha and your Mother was Heiress to the Uzumaki Clan. She was the last Uzumaki when Whirlpool Country was destroyed in one of the Shinobi Wars and was considered the last before you came along," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto was surprised to hear this and was unable to comprehend this information.

"My Father was...the Yondaime Hokage? No. NO! ITS NOT TRUE! THAT CAN'T BE TRUE! IF IT WAS THEN THE PEOPLE WOULDN'T HATE ME!" said Naruto, as he hit the Fire Daimyo in the chest area, and the Feudal Lord held the boy close.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I truly am. Believe me when I tell you that they were your parents," said the Fire Daimyo while the boy cried in his arms while struggling to accept that his parents had been such great people while he himself was treated less then the garbage people tossed outside into alleys that stray animals went for food.

"Why? Why do people hate me? Why do they love my parents, but hate me?" said Naruto seeing the Fire Daimyo sigh knowing he really wasn't sure himself, but still had an idea of why, and yet...Naruto didn't need to be freaked out right now.

"I think I know why Naruto, but I am unsure if the reason is in fact what I suspected, and if you give me time I will find out why. I don't want to give you an answer that isn't true," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto nod silently.

"Where will I stay while you're finding this out?" said Naruto after a moment since he did not have a home to live in.

"Here in the palace with me," said the Fire Daimyo knowing the boy would be safer here then in Konoha.

"Here? Are you sure?" said Naruto nervously since he didn't want to impose.

"I insist Naruto. You are hereby considered my Guest of Honor in my home," said the Fire Daimyo with the boy looking so happy at this news.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll be on my best behavior. No pranks!" said Naruto knowing that to be a Hell raiser in Konoha was one thing, but in a place like this, and someone so high up was unwise.

The Fire Daimyo just laughed.

"Well...maybe a prank or two wouldn't hurt. My guards need to be tested on occasion so they don't slack off. Just let me know in advance when its coming," said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw the boy grin, and knew Naruto got it from his Mother.

"Deal!" said Naruto with the two laughing with the boy's laugh truly being truly genuine this time.

"Excellent! Now Naruto while you are here, I want to see you become strong like your parents, and one day surpass them. For that to happen, I'm going to arrange a series of teachers from my samurai, several of the Guardian 12, and even Shinobi handpicked by myself to oversee the training for the next couple of years. Do you approve?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the boy nod enthusiastically at the idea.

"Absolutely!" said Naruto seeing the man smile further.

"Follow me. We're going to meet some of them right now," said the Fire Daimyo, as he walked out of the room with Naruto right beside him, and the desire to become great swelling within the boy's blue eyes.

(3 Weeks Later)

The Sandaime Hokage entered the Fire Daimyo's office. He had been escorted there by a select group of the man's samurai after traveling to the Capital of Fire Country when the Feudal Lord summoned him here. The Third Hokage didn't know why the Fire Daimyo was summoning him here, but the way some of the samurai were actually _glaring_ right at him told they were not pleased with what they knew about this, and somehow whatever the issue was about had some deep connection to his position as Hokage. Asuma was no help either, as he had stopped writing letters for the past three weeks, and no one close to his son here in the Fire Country Capital could give him an answer.

The old Kage was starting to feel a cold shiver run up his spine when he sat down. The eyes of the Fire Daimyo were cold. A far cry from the usual warmth he had seen the last time the Feudal Lord had visited and even that moment was not as warm like the Hokage had hoped. The Sandaime remembered it being a faded warmth from the usual amount the Feudal Lord gave when greeting him and now there was only a deep coldness within the Regal man's eyes.

"Do you know why I've called you here Sandaime Hokage?" said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw the old man before him shifting uncomfortable, and knew it was more then just the nervousness felt from being looked at with such scrutiny.

There were many seals secretly put around the room. Seals placed there at the request of his Grandfather many years ago to the Uzumaki Seal Master at the time to prevent the use of chakra in the room. Uzumaki Mito's teacher if the Fire Daimyo remembered correctly. The man had seen to it that the seals were the best ever made! Wouldn't wear away, wash away, and or be removed in _any _way possible. At this moment, the Sandaime Hokage was an old man, and had no power in this room. The God of Shinobi was reduced to an old man in this room with no power, no chakra, and no strength to fight against the much younger man that commanded all of Fire Country.

"No Daimyo-sama. Your message said to come here immediately and I obeyed," said the Hokage seeing the Feudal Lord of Fire Country frown slightly.

"Indeed. My message did that. In fact, I believe I wrote in my message that I was in fact _commanding you_ to come here immediately...one week ago," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Sandaime wince slightly.

"There was an internal matter of who would be running Konoha until my return and there were several volunteers," said the Hokage with the Fire Daimyo frowning further.

"It took you nearly a _week_ to decide? Such a temporary replacement should not take so long to put into position unless you were dragging your feet _and_ there was something _else _that you felt required such a delay in seeing me," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the elderly Kage wince again.

"I admit I was delayed and for that I am sorry Daimyo-sama," said the Sandaime while the Feudal Lord scowled further with a fury in his eyes the Hokage had never seen in the man until now.

"Do I come off as a fool to you Hiruzen? Do you honestly think I am some kind of naive idiot?" said the Fire Daimyo with the Hokage looking shocked at his line of questioning.

"Daimyo-sama I...I don't understand! I...I...," said Hiruzen while the Fire Daimyo reached his limit in terms of patience with the Hokage and slammed his fist down on his desk.

"DO NOT TAKE ME FOR FOOL! YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY YOU WERE LATE TO MY SUMMONS!" yelled the Fire Daimyo seeing the Hokage looking like a deer caught in headlights.

The Hokage did know why. Hiruzen had turned Konoha inside and out the past week trying to find a single person in the village. A single child, which he didn't even know was missing until much later due to the Shinobi, or the people in general within the village not caring about what happened to this boy. The Hokage went to every place in Konoha he knew the boy liked to hang out, searching for the child, hoping the villagers, and his Shinobi didn't do anything too damaging to the child.

A boy named Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto.

"Daimyo-sama I...I don't...I don't...know...," said the Hokage, as he saw the younger man frowning at him, and knew lying was pointless here.

"You don't know what? You don't know where Uzumaki Naruto is? Is that what you want to say?" said the Fire Daimyo while seeing the old Kage before him sweating up a storm.

"How...How did...?" said the Sandaime while trying to figure things out in his head.

"How did I know? How did I find out? As in how did I find out that the son of my two dearest friends of mine was being abused by the very village they defended so nobly?" said the Fire Daimyo while the Hokage was trying to keep his composure.

'This isn't happening,' thought the Sandaime while the Fire Daimyo produced a folder filled with information.

"The boy has been here for three weeks. Since then, I've had my agents do a little digging in Konoha, and found some interesting pieces of information. Now before you begin to ask yourself 'how did I not know about this?', I want you to remember that my resources are not limited to my samurai, and the Shinobi of Konoha that are apparently more loyal to you then you are to me," said the Fire Daimyo pushing the folder filled with various pieces of information to the Hokage, who dared not touch, or open it like the contents held some kind of disease.

"What has the boy told you about Konoha?" said the Sandaime at last though his voice was barely a muffled whisper.

"Enough. After our talk, I felt the need to launch my own _personal _investigation, and see into some things about the boy's life you've been keeping from me," said the Fire Daimyo with narrowed eyes.

"The boy needed to be protected," said the Sandaime weakly with his voice lacking the conviction of that statement.

"Oh, I agree the boy needed to be protected, but not by Leaf Shinobi, and certainly not by _you_!" said the Fire Daimyo knowing the Hokage was trying to think of a way to get in his good graces and the boy back in Konoha.

"Please Daimyo-sama. The boy is important to the Leaf village. His parents were...!" said the Hokage before the Feudal Lord slammed his fist on the desk again.

"His parents are _dead_! I know who they are Sarutobi and I know how they died so don't talk to me like I'm some gullible _fool_! I also know that they would ashamed of Konoha for treating their only child like they have for so long," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the old man before him trying to think of something to get Naruto back in Konoha.

"The people of Konoha are suffering from their losses Kyuubi gave us seven years ago. They just need more time to get over their pain," said the Sandaime while sensing killer intent from the guards behind him.

"And they have to take it out on Naruto? Are you saying that its okay for them to channel their anger at the child for holding Kyuubi?" said the Fire Daimyo, as he had his doctor examine the boy, and saw the Yondaime's Seal so knowing what was held in the child was not hard to figure out.

"No! But you can't expect me to not care about the people in Konoha," said the Hokage with the Fire Daimyo narrowing his eyes at him.

"What about his Godparents? What about Tsunade and Jiraiya? Why haven't they taken up the responsibilities in raising him?" said the Fire Daimyo with the Hokage shifting uneasily again.

"I can't say Daimyo-sama," said the Hokage with the Feudal Lord sneering at him.

"Can't or won't? Doesn't matter. Perhaps time in our dungeon will loosen your tongue while I appoint a _new_ Hokage more competent then yourself," said the Fire Daimyo before motioning his guards to take the man away.

"Wait! Wait! I'll tell you," said the Sandaime seeing the samurai coming towards him.

"Well? Answer me!" said the Fire Daimyo while glaring with sheer intensity at the old man.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade...they...they don't want anything to do with Naruto at all," said the Sandaime with the Fire Daimyo's killer intent rising and the old Kage was truly fearful of this man.

"I thought as much. In the past two weeks alone, I've been secretly reviewing all financial transactions made since that night Kyuubi attacked, and found very _disturbing _reading material. Who allowed those two Sannin access the Namikaze and Uzumaki accounts? Who was it that allowed them to not only use it, but allow the village to take a sizeable chunk for repair work? Repair work, which I recall was already given funds by _me_, and from _my treasury_!" said the Fire Daimyo seeing Hiruzen looking nervous.

"The money from both clans went to very profitable investments in Konoha after it was realized such an error had been made," said the Sandaime, but the Fire Daimyo wasn't buying it, and the man pulled out another folder.

"By 'profitable investments', do you mean various stores, businesses, and overall house remodeling projects for various members of the Civilian Council? Some of which didn't even _need _such remodeling. How is that profitable? More importantly...how is Jiraiya and Tsunade spending the money from both clans to be considered 'profitable investments' as you put it?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Third Hokage silent for a moment.

"I assure you Daimyo-sama, I will get to the bottom of this, and see to it that the money is retrieved to...," said Hiruzen, but the Daimyo held up his hand, which told the Hokage to shut up, and listen to what his Feudal Lord had to say.

"Don't insult me with this humble act Hiruzen. It may have worked before when I fully trusted you to do your job, but my eyes have been opened, and what I see is a pathetic man unworthy of his station. Even as we speak, my auditors are heading to Konoha, and they will be digging deeper into the transactions of the village before punishing the Leaf accordingly. All those people that benefitted from that money will be taxed and fined _heavily_! As of this moment, the Namikaze, and the Uzumaki Clan accounts are frozen until further notice until Naruto is of legal age to have them. As for Jiraiya and Tsunade, they will be unable to use them for their own personal use. And by personal use, I mean no gambling, drinking, paying off debt collectors, and paying for women in the Red Light District. I am also _revoking_ their Sannin traveling rights and ordering those two back _here _to face my own _personal_ review of them," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Third Hokage looking fearful.

"But you can't! Jiraiya is needed out in the field with his spy network," said the Hokage since Jiraiya had been helping Konoha.

"And Tsunade?" said the Fire Daimyo waiting for the Hokage's excuse for her.

"She doesn't like Konoha," said the Hokage while the Feudal Lord of Fire Country just narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not asking her to return Konoha. I'm _commanding _Tsunade to come _here_ to the Fire Country Capital. If she refuses to obey...then I will mark her down as a Missing Nin with a massive bounty on her head to ensure your former student gets the message," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the old man look pained by hearing this.

"What about Naruto? Can I see him?" said the Hokage with the Fire Daimyo shaking his head no.

"Out of the question. I've arranged for several of the Guardian 12 to train Naruto. I'm also having one of the few Shinobi in Konoha, who I know can be trusted to train him in the Shinobi Arts, and unleash his true potential. Like you should have done from the start," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Sandaime wince.

"Please reconsider Daimyo-sama. Give me a chance to set things right with Naruto. To let him know I'm sorry," said the Sandaime with the Fire Daimyo shaking his head no with disgust written all over his face.

"No! Naruto does not want anything to do with you Hiruzen. He knows about his parents. He knows you lied to him time and time again. I will not have you scar or poison that child's mind any more then you already have since his birth," said the Fire Daimyo with the Hokage looking like he was afraid.

"Naruto made a promise to me that he would one day become Hokage!" said Hiruzen and the Fire Daimyo looked ready to take his sword and strike the old Kage down.

"A promise that I explained to him was _invalid _due to it being made under false pretenses you set for the boy. Whether or not Naruto sets out to keep his promise in being Hokage like you hoped will be his _choice _to make," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the old Kage did not like this news at all.

"Don't you see _I_ had no choice? The boy is the key to Konoha's security and future," said Hiruzen having stood up from his seat with panic clearly on his face.

"And by 'key to Konoha's security and future' you mean the village _weapon_! Don't think I don't know about the history behind Jinchuriki and the lives they've lived. Kushina told me herself about how she was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki and Uzumaki Mito was the first one before her. I wonder how those two, plus your sensei, and his brother would react if they were here to learn just how Naruto was treated? How you, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and everyone else knowing of your little plan tried to turn the boy into your faithful _servant_?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Sandaime grit his teeth in anger before using his last trump card.

"Naruto belongs in Konoha. It was the Yondaime's dying wish that he develop a bond in the village. You cannot deny the dying wish of the Yondaime!" said the Sandaime while the Fire Daimyo scowled with a look of pure hatred.

"How _DARE_ you! You would use that line on me? You dare use that excuse, knowing full well that the village, and its people haven't done that for Naruto. You talk about him developing bonds with the village. You talk of the dying wish of the Yondaime not being denied, but we both know that will _never _happen so long as he stays in Konoha, and is _scorned_ by its people. Your request to have Naruto returned to Konoha is _denied_ and if you try to find out where he is to have him kidnapped...I will _liquidate _the village to start anew," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Sandaime stiffen since he had planned to do just that.

"D-Daimyo-sama...sure you...you w-wouldn't do that? The village has stood since the time of my sensei with his brother and Uchiha Madara first founded Konoha," said the Third Hokage with the Feudal Lord of Fire Country looking at him with a deadly serious look in his eyes.

"You're half right. The village was _founded_ through them, _but _also with my Grandfather's _blessing_, and _support_ within this land that _I_ now rule. A blessing that I am within my own right as ruler of Fire Country to _revoke_! It is through _my_ money, _my _resources, and _my_ support that Konoha still stands. Though I'm strongly considering the idea of removing Konoha from the world right now from how you've tried to defend its actions against the boy. Get out of office, out of the Capital, and return to Konoha where I will soon decide its fate. One more thing Hiruzen. You will not inform Tsunade or Jiraiya of why I am ordering them back to Konoha. If you do...I'll order your execution for treason against me," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Hokage was fighting the urge to yell at the Feudal Lord for saying such a thing.

"I understand Daimyo-sama. May I ask what has become of my son Asuma? I have not heard anything from him for some time," said Hiruzen knowing he could at least get that much from the Fire Daimyo.

"I've ordered your son to stay here in the Capital, but denied him the right to contact you about everything, and anything regarding Naruto since the boy's arrival. Before you think he knows where Naruto is located, I will stop that line of thought for you, and say that the man does _not _know the boy's location. I do not trust him just as I have come to not trust you. That is all I will say on the matter. Now get out of my sight Hiruzen. I don't want to see you unless its absolutely necessary," said the Fire Daimyo pointing to the door and the Third Hokage bowed rigidly.

"All I have ever done has been for the greatness of Konoha and Fire Country," said the Third Hokage and the Fire Daimyo scoffed.

"If that were true Hiruzen, you wouldn't have revealed Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki, and made sure the village populace didn't know either," said the Fire Daimyo before his two guards escorted the Hokage out of his home.

Moments later, a Shinobi Monk by the name of Chiriku walked in, and bowed to the Fire Daimyo before handing him a report. Reading it over, the Fire Daimyo smiled at what he read, and the monk himself did too since the report regarded Naruto.

"I've never seen a child so cautious of new people and yet so happy in all my time being alive," said Chiriku having seen the child hesitate to meet the Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple.

"Bansai has already grown attached to him already I see. He's become something of a surrogate Grandfather to the boy," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Chiriku smirk.

"Yeah. Naruto was hesitant at first to be around so many of us, but when we showed were not like the people in Konoha, he seemed happy, and it breaks my heart knowing Konoha tried to take that away," said Chiriku seeing his Feudal Lord frown slightly.

"Konoha will pay for their actions against the boy. I will see to it," said the Fire Daimyo knowing his wrath would be minor compared to Naruto's should he wish to unleash his fury on the village.

And the Fire Daimyo would let him too.

"Young Sentoki sees Konoha's actions to be unforgiveable and has already tried to help in Naruto's education in many things the Leaf would deny him. I've already begun some measure of training for Naruto too and find his energy to be impressive for one so young. Though given his status as Jinchuriki of Kyuubi, it is to be expected, and we intend for the boy to be well trained when the time comes to defend himself," said Chiriku, as he was having the boy work on his normal training exercises, and then intended to get into the weapon training with a bo-staff.

"Good. I want Naruto to reach his full potential. I've also had one of my agents get a message out to Uchiha Itachi and informing him of his services to me regarding Naruto," said the Fire Daimyo while Chiriku was surprised to hear this.

"_The_ Uchiha Itachi? I've heard of him, but only by reputation, and hear he's quite good for someone his age," said Chiriku knowing the Uchiha was suppose to be very strong and would be an excellent teacher.

"Yes. I made sure he understood this mission was not to be shared by anyone in Konoha due to them currently scrambling to find the child now that they realize he's no longer in the village," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Chiriku nod.

"With Itachi's help I have no doubt Naruto will be one of the strongest Shinobi since his parents, but when his training is complete...won't he be under the jurisdiction of the Leaf, and the Hokage?" said Chiriku seeing the Fire Daimyo shake his head no.

"No. I'm having the boy become a Shinobi under _my_ _direct_ _command_. He will be my very own agent in the shadows so I will no longer be led astray with nativity in believing the Hokage or the village in general can be fully trusted. When his training is complete, I will have him enter Konoha, and Naruto will secretly observe the village before giving me a report on the current situation," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Chiriku nod.

"Asuma asked me about Naruto when I came here to speak with you Daimyo-sama. I've come to suspect he's going to inform his Father of the boy's location if I reveal it," said Chiriku while the Fire Daimyo scowled.

"Don't tell him anything Chiriku. Asuma is more loyal to his Father then to me and while I understand why that is the case on account of their blood ties...this matter does not have anything to do with that," said the Fire Daimyo with the Shinobi Monk nodding.

"When do you expect Naruto's so called Godparents to arrive?" said Chiriku seeing the Feudal Lord to think about this for a moment.

"Soon. After I cut their access to each clan account they each took, neither will come back just for that alone, but rather to find out why their traveling rights have been revoked, and seek to get them back. Those two Sannin have some nerve to abandon Naruto and then drain a hefty sum of his inheritance from both sides of his family. Something I intend to see hurts them in the long run and that to go against my ruling would be..._unwise_," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Chiriku nodding in agreement.

"Does Naruto know about his Godparents?" said Chiriku knowing that those two might try to get close to Naruto and poison his mind like the Sandaime did in Konoha.

"No. Up until now, I did not know anything about it, but the Yondaime's Will, which I required from one of my agents, hereby stated that should anything happen to him, and his Mother they were to take care of the boy. The Will was _unsealed _that very night the Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto by the Sandaime, as this seal when broken, also tells who broke it, and the time it was broken," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Chiriku frown slightly with confusion.

"There is still something I don't understand Daimyo-sama. If the Sandaime, Jiraiya, and Tsunade _knew_ the boy was their son...why did they do this to him? Why did the Hokage manipulate things? Why did Jiraiya and Tsunade abandon him? It doesn't make sense," said Chiriku while the Fire Daimyo nodded in agreement.

"When the two Sannin get here Chiriku, I will see to it they answer my question, and for their crimes the against the boy," said the Fire Daimyo knowing those two had a lot to answer for and he was going to see to it that they did.

One way or another.

(With Naruto-Several Days Later)

Naruto could honestly say he loved the Fire Temple, even if it was too quiet at times for his liking when meditation was required for the monks, and given his own nature could try his paper thin level patience. The monks themselves were kind, smiling at him that he could tell were the genuine article, and they were teaching about their way of life. Naruto thought it was weird at first, but wasn't going to say it out loud since they were currently watching over him until the Fire Daimyo got things squared away in his palace, and was apparently getting to the bottom of some things.

Bansai reminded Naruto briefly of the Hokage, but after the old man had betrayed him, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was cautious of the elderly monk at first, and watched for any kind of deceit. After seeing Bansai was not like the old Hokage, the Uzumaki child warmed up to the elderly monk, and soon became the Grandson this old man had always wanted in life. Bansai had been instructing Naruto on the fundamentals of being a Shinobi Monk, which baffled the poor boy at first, but the elderly monk used living examples of what they did at the Fire Temple, and it was through that did the hyperactive blonde begin to understand.

"Bansai-sensei," said Naruto, as he sat in mediation with the elderly monk across from him, and the old man opened his eyes to look at the boy.

"Yes Naruto?" said Bansai curiously.

"Why do you think people hate others for things that aren't their fault?" said Naruto with the monk letting out a sigh at the question.

"I suppose its mainly due to human nature. To be honest, I find the actions of the people in Konoha to be foolish, and hypocritical when you consider who your parents were. The Leaf sees them as their heroes while condemning their son to a life no one should have to endure," said Bansai, as he along with Naruto had been told by the Fire Daimyo about the Kyuubi, and the fox being the source of the people hating him.

"I don't know what to think of the village. The Fire Daimyo told me that my promise I made to the old Hokage about taking the title is not something I have to honor. It was made under false...uh...false _something_! I can pronounce it, but basically he said that the promise was not something I have to keep since the old man lied, and I'm not bound to it unless I wish to honor the promise. Do you think I should keep the promise?" said Naruto seeing Bansai smile kindly at him.

"I can't make that decision for you Naruto. Whether or not you keep the promise is your choice and yours alone. I wouldn't worry right now about honoring the promise Naruto. You don't have to make that choice until later on when all of your training is nearly or is complete," said Bansai with Naruto smiling at him.

"Thanks Bansai-sensei," said Naruto while trying to go back to his mediation and soon found himself in a sewer filled with water and a cage with a giant fox behind it.

_**"So the little runt comes to pay me a visit. You don't look like much," **_said Kyuubi with Naruto scowling at him.

'Well you wouldn't either if your life was like mine,' thought Naruto with the fox snarling at him.

_**"You little runt! At least you get to walk around and see things. I've been sealed inside your kind for over a century since your Uzumaki ancestor first sealed me into her after I was free from Uchiha Madara's control!" **_said Kyuubi while glaring at the boy and was a bit surprised the kid didn't fear him.

'You were? I didn't know. Wow. I'm sorry,' thought Naruto while looking away and the fox just looked stunned for a second before letting out a sigh.

_**"You didn't know kit. I doubt anyone would ever tell you anything about the history I have with the various clans of your village," **_said Kyuubi while Naruto looked at the fox with curiosity in his blue eyes.

'You do?' thought Naruto while seeing the fox smirk at him.

_**"Three clans actually. The Uchiha Clan is one, which I despise for their cursed eyes, and their superiority complex. Another, the Senju Clan is nearly extinct, but respected much more then the first, and third is...well your clan. The Uzumaki Clan,"**_ said Kyuubi with his vessel looking at him with interest now.

'Wow! Hey wait! I know about the Uchiha Clan. If you are connected to them, then why aren't they hated, and shunned like I am in Konoha everyday?' thought Naruto with the fox scoffing at the boy's nativity.

_**"Please! Do you really think this information is common knowledge? The only people, who know about this are the members from each of these clans, and every Hokage up until now," **_said Kyuubi with an image of the Sandaime flashing in the boy mind and snarled at it.

'I wonder if my parents would have told even me about you if they hadn't died in sealing you inside me when I was born?' thought Naruto with Kyuubi scoffing again.

_**"They wouldn't have had a choice in the matter kit. Only an Uzumaki can hold me and you were the last after your Mother died,"**_ said Kyuubi having listened to the interesting conversation the child had with the Fire Daimyo and learned this boy was _their _offspring.

'So I was going to be your prison no matter what happened that night,' thought Naruto sadly with Kyuubi just watching him.

_**"Yes. Though the seal would have been different and more constricting then this one due to this particular seal being your Father's handiwork. Not to mention, you would have me inside your body at a later age instead of when you were first born, and been strong enough to handle the change without too many complications in holding me,"**_ said Kyuubi while Naruto just grimaced.

'I don't think I would have wanted to be your vessel. It seems...wrong to keep you locked away like this,' thought Naruto seeing the fox raise its eyebrow at him.

_**"Oh really? And what would you do in the place of your predecessors? Let me out and be allowed to roam free? I wasn't the nicest Biju even before Madara used his eyes to control me. What makes you think your actions wouldn't lead to something horribly tragic?" **_said Kyuubi seeing Naruto looking up at him.

'I don't know! Maybe you're right and you would do something bad. But even if you did, it would be your own choice, and fault for doing it in the first place right after getting free,' thought Naruto seeing Kyuubi nodding since the kid did have a point in a weird way.

_**"Regardless, there is no avoiding the outcome of what you would become in the future had your parents lived, and the only difference when compared to now is the people of Konoha would have never known," **_said Kyuubi and ended their conversation before kicking the boy out of his head.

"You spoke to the fox," said Bansai having sensed some of the fox's chakra with Naruto stiffening slightly.

"I didn't mean to Bansai-sensei. I was mediating and suddenly appeared in my mind with him waiting for me. He kicked me out just now too," said Naruto while looking away like he was about to be scolded for doing something stupid.

"Its all right. Sooner or later you would have talked to Kyuubi. Just be mindful of the fox for they are known tricksters," said Bansai in a friendly teaching tone.

"I don't think he wants to trick me. Not yet anyway. I think...I think he's just lonely being sealed away for over a century and needs a friend," said Naruto with Bansai looking very surprised since no one had ever considered befriending a Biju before now.

"And you want to be his friend?" said Bansai simply.

"If he'll let me. Kyuubi wouldn't be alone anymore and stuck in that cell by himself," said Naruto with Bansai nodding in thought.

"You are traveling down an unknown and dangerous path Naruto. Be mindful when you are talking to him. Just because you want to be Kyuubi's friend does not mean he'll want to be in return," said Bansai with Naruto nodding.

"I know Bansai-sensei, but if I don't at least try, then I'm just like all those villagers, and Shinobi in Konoha that hate me," said Naruto with Bansai smiling at the child.

"You have a good heart Naruto. Come! Its time to eat," said Bansai, as he got off the ground, and Naruto followed with his stomach growling.

Or was it Kyuubi laughing or growling angrily at the notion of being friends with his vessel?

(Fire Country Capital-2 Weeks Later)

The Fire Daimyo had been informed of Jiraiya's arrival with Tsunade's not being that far off with a young woman and pig following the female Sannin just a few steps behind. The two had come later then he had hoped, but it was too be somewhat expected given their nature, and vices getting the better of them. One was gambling, which no doubt had played a key part in Tsunade's return since her access to the Uzumaki Clan account had prevented her debts from being paid. Jiraiya had probably used some of the vast wealth from his own accounts to enjoy some of the time spent in the more seedy places of the Elemental Countries so the loss of Namikaze Clan account didn't hurt the Sannin _that much_. Still, the loss of the traveling rights for both put a significant cramp on their means to enjoy their vices, and to escape his command to come here.

Hence the order to come here being one they could _not _ignore.

_As expected_ from what he heard from his informants, both Sannin were less then pleased in having their traveling rights revoked, being summoned to see him, and secretly losing all access to the accounts they both tried to bleed dry. Until he called them out on it, the Fire Daimyo would not say anything about the matter since neither knew it was by his order the accounts were beyond their reach, but knowing Tsunade's temper, she would eventually crack, and say some things before anyone could stop her. Her weakness was centered around her temper when touching a personal subject, which the woman had it in spades after losing those close to her, and all he needed to do was poke the festering wound of the Sannin's soul before it exploded. Then all the truth that was the secretion behind it would come out and the Fire Daimyo would use his own _method_ for handling this untreated scar on both Sannin.

Soon enough, both Shinobi entered his office, the seals doing their job in preventing them both from using chakra, but didn't stop Tsunade's Genjutsu from functioning, and the Fire Daimyo ignored that fact for now. Both Sannin sat down in their respective seats, both were glaring at him, and yet were showing signs of being cautious when inside this room after feeling the effect of being just a normal person. The woman with Tsunade was also cautious, but more respectful to the Fire Daimyo, and bowed slightly to show she was in fact honored to be in this room with him.

"Thank you both for coming," said the Fire Daimyo with both Sannin giving a polite nod though Tsunade's face showed she was only giving it only because he outranked her.

"When the Fire Daimyo gives an order to come visit him we obey!" said Jiraiya with a smile on his face now while trying to lighten the mood between the three of them while Shizune still looked nervous despite everything.

"Forgive me for not believing you Jiraiya-san. I find some of the information regarding certain things to question my faith in you two and the Sandaime Hokage," said the Fire Daimyo seeing both of them were shocked by this.

"Sarutobi-sensei? What did he do?" said Jiraiya while Tsunade was shocked to hear the Fire Daimyo was actually questioning them about anything.

"I've already spoken to the Hokage separately about this and ordered him not to contact you regarding what I've learned so I could speak to you too personally," said the Fire Daimyo while seeing the two Sannin looking a bit concerned.

"About what?" said Tsunade seeing the Fire Daimyo look from her to Jiraiya.

"Uzumaki Naruto," said the Fire Daimyo and instantly he saw them stiffen slightly.

"What about him? He's happy and safe in Konoha being loved by its people," said Jiraiya while trying to put on a happy face to hide his nervousness.

"Is he? Are you sure?" said the Fire Daimyo raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well...yeah! Why wouldn't he be? Sarutobi-sensei is watching him. Protecting him from harm," said Jiraiya while Tsunade's hands were trying not to turn into fists.

"Your information is outdated Jiraiya. Uzumaki Naruto is no longer in Konoha," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Jiraiya looking shocked and fearful while Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the Feudal Lord.

"What? When? How?" said Jiraiya getting out of his seat, but the samurai guards in the room just grabbed by his shoulders, and forced back into the seat.

"You took him from Konoha, didn't you?" said Tsunade accusingly.

"Someone had to help the boy. You two were elsewhere instead of fulfilling your duties as being Naruto's Godparents!" said the Fire Daimyo seeing them tense up at having their secret found out.

"We thought it was better for Naruto due to certain problems he would get by having our attention," said Jiraiya seeing the Fire Daimyo's eyes narrowing at him.

"You mean being of the Yondaime Hokage?" said the Fire Daimyo with Jiraiya looking shocked that he knew.

"But...sensei...he...he made sure to keep such information a secret!" said Jiraiya while the Fire Daimyo snarled in fury at the fool in front of him.

"It wasn't hard to figure out Jiraiya. There was only _one _Uzumaki in Konoha before the boy's birth and I performed the wedding of that woman to the Yondaime Hokage _myself_!" said the Fire Daimyo seeing Jiraiya looking uneasy now.

"Why are we here?" said Tsunade knowing the man wanted them both here for something else aside from what was already exposed.

"I ordered you here because I wanted to know why you abandon that boy to the village, which hated him for holding Kyuubi, and not protect him when he needed it most," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the two Sannin look at each other for a second before looking back at him.

"We thought Sarutobi-sensei would...," said Jiraiya, but he was silence by the Daimyo's fist hitting the desk, and causing it to shake while the Feudal Lord's fury filled eyes were burning a hole through the heads of the Sannin in front of him.

"DON'T! Don't you _dare _try to put all the blame on the Sandaime. I have had enough of _him_ already and you two will share the blame for this act of injustice against this boy. Do you honestly think I would order you here unless I knew _everything_ about what you did? You are here to answer my questions regarding Uzumaki Naruto," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the two Sannin shift again.

"Did you know because of Naruto that Kushina is dead? That the woman I thought of as a daughter was killed by her own son?" said Tsunade while the click down of one of the samurai guards getting ready to unsheathe his sword should she make any move against the Feudal Lord was made.

"So you blame Kushina's death on her own son. That's your reason? The boy didn't have anything to do with her death. Kyuubi did. Of course, the fox is _sealed _within Naruto so its no real surprise you would come to the belief that by hurting the prison, the prisoner would also suffer, and you would get some measure revenge. What about you Jiraiya? Do you hate the boy because his Father is dead? Do you blame Naruto for the death of your students?" said the Fire Daimyo while blowing off her explanation like it was pathetic and pointless.

"I think you already know my answer Daimyo-sama," said Jiraiya with the man nodding.

"I believe I do. Your actions for the past seven years in neglecting the boy and your duty to him speak for themselves. Hence why I order you cut off from both the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clan accounts after I notice the fortune from them being decreased drastically all these years by your hands," said the Fire Daimyo seeing shock on Jiraiya's face and anger on Tsunade's own.

"You had no right!" said Tsunade getting up from her chair, but a hand to one shoulder, and a blade to the side of her neck told the Sannin not to press her luck.

"I don't? Are you saying the Fire Daimyo of Fire Country has no right to interfere in the Leaf village's affairs? A Shinobi village, which resides in _my country_, and in _my lands _that _I rule_!" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the Slug Sannin sit down though the sword was removed her neck now.

"Daimyo-sama you must understand we...," said Jiraiya, but was silenced by the glare the ruler of Fire Country gave him, and knew his words were only provoking the man.

"I understand _perfectly _Jiraiya! You two were draining the Uzumaki and Namikaze Clan accounts dry so when Naruto did have the right to them they would be depleted down to _nothing_! He would be stuck in Konoha and relying on the village for financial purposes so leaving for greener pastures was out of the question. I am well aware the village took more then enough from both accounts with your blessing while each of you spent a hefty sum on your own personal vices. You Senju Tsunade have been using the Uzumaki Clan account to pay off outrageous gambling debts you racked up from your time in casinos if not spending it on sake at bars. Jiraiya here has been spending money from the Namikaze Clan account while having more then enough money in his own account from the smutty books he writes while _supposedly _living the life of a hermit. Am I wrong?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing neither one answer.

"What do you intend to do with them Daimyo-sama?" said Shizune knowing she herself could be punished for Tsunade's actions just by being with her while Fire Daimyo looked at her now.

"The mouse speaks. First, I hereby order you two back to Konoha, and to stay there unless I say otherwise," said the Fire Daimyo with the two Sannin shouting in protest at this order.

"You can't! My spy network! My research!" said Jiraiya frantically while going on about how he needed to be out in the field and see the pretty ladies for inspirational purposes for his next book.

"I refuse to go back to Konoha. After all I've lost you expect me to go back there?" said Tsunade furiously while rambling on about the losses she'd suffered in Konoha.

"SHUT UP!" yelled the Fire Daimyo standing up at last with fury in his voice that made the two Sannin sit down while shaking like children at the sudden outburst.

'Scary,' thought Shizune seeing the man glaring at the two Sannin that she thought he would give the order to have them both killed right there.

"I have had enough of your whining and complaining like spoiled _children_! That is what you are to my eyes! The Sandaime didn't have the courage to do discipline the two of you in your Genin years, but I will now, and I know of the perfect punishment befitting the many crimes that you committed against Uzumaki Naruto. As of this moment, you two are going to be dirt poor, and live in Konoha living off very little that I allow to be given. Jiraiya, all the money you have in _your account_ made writing those smutty books now belongs to Naruto, and you will refill the Namikaze Clan account back to what it was to the correct amount _plus interest_! Any and all money from those books now goes to him!" said the Fire Daimyo while the man looked like he was ready to have a heart attack.

"But how will I live? I need money to eat food, a house to live in, and all the other basic essentials!" said Jiraiya pleadingly.

"You claim to be hermit, correct? Living off the land without relying on things others take for granted? Do what you claim to be Jiraiya and suck it up," said the Fire Daimyo while Jiraiya just whimpered.

'This is not happening. This is not happening,' thought Jiraiya with his mind shattered at the implication of the Feudal Lord's command.

"The same goes for you _Senju_ Tsunade. As of this moment, any money in the Senju Clan account is going to the Uzumaki Clan's account to bring the numbers up, and you will work at the hospital with all the money you would make going to the account too. You _both_ will keep doing this to make sure that all seven years and more interest have been factored into the accounts you pilfered so greedily to satisfy your vices," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Tsunade looking furious.

"You can't just deny me the Uzumaki Clan account! I am an Uzumaki by _blood_ on my Grandmother's side!" said Tsunade seeing the Fire Daimyo looking even madder.

"And you left one of your own to suffer needlessly. All the more reason to deny you the right to the account," said the Fire Daimyo while Tsunade was starting to show signs of panicking.

"I have gambling debts that need to be paid. How will I pay them if I give all my money to that _brat_?" said Tsunade with the Fire Daimyo showing he didn't really care.

"Whore yourself out to the men in Konoha for a substantial fee or the men you owe debts to. I don't care how you pay off the debts you owe, but I expect them all to be paid off _separately_ from the money that's gain from working in Konoha's hospital. I'll even supply the necessary funding to that special project of yours to have Medic Nin be integrated into Shinobi squads for battle to help reduce fatalities," said the Fire Daimyo seeing the woman shaking with rage and despair at his words.

"What is to become of myself Daimyo-sama?" said Shizune while worried for her own life now.

"You? That is a good question. Tell me your name little mouse and who do your loyalties lie with?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the woman look at Tsunade, who was glaring at her, and telling the younger woman not to leave her side.

"My name is Kato Shizune. I have been Tsunade-sama's assistant and student since she first left Konoha. I am a skilled Medic Nin and could be of any use you deem fit Daimyo-sama," said Shizune seeing the man nod.

"That's good to hear, _but_ you didn't answer my question regarding your loyalties lied, and I am not blinded by the fact Tsunade here is glaring daggers at you in a silent command to stay with her through this punishment," said the Fire Daimyo with Shizune's view of Tsunade now being blocked by a samurai so she could focus on the Feudal Lord asking about where her loyalties resided.

"I...I...with all do respect Daimyo-sama I cannot answer. I feel..._conflicted_!" said Shizune with the Fire Daimyo surprisingly smiling at her.

"I understand. I wish to show you a medical file on Uzumaki Naruto my agents acquired and since you are a Medic Nin I think its only fair you read it," said the Fire Daimyo, as he produced the thick file, and saw Shizune was hesitant to even open it.

"_All_ of this...is Uzumaki Naruto's medical file?" said Shizune, as she walked over to his desk, and slowly took the file with trembling hands.

"Yes. The boy has paid a heavy price for your teacher's neglect in protecting him in the last seven years," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Shizune read over the file and saw her eyes begin to water.

"He's been stabbed multiple times in the back? Second degree burns from being set on fire? Bones needing to be reset along the ribs and legs from being struck by blunt objects of all different kinds?" said Shizune, as she kept reading the same type of thing over, and over with reports from some of the doctors leaving cruel comments about how Naruto's attackers should have finished the job when they had the chance.

"Yes. Even then, the doctors did a poor job in resetting them, and the Kyuubi itself had to do the job they failed to do completely themselves," said the Fire Daimyo with Shizune dropping the file on his desk and looking horrified at Tsunade.

"Don't you dare leave my side Shizune! Who was it that trained you? Who was there for you when your uncle died and had no one left? I am your sensei and I expect you to side with me!" said Tsunade with Shizune glaring at her and surprisingly slapped the Sannin across the face.

"Side with you? It was because of _you_ and your hatred for this boy that he's suffered enough already! But even now its still not enough for you, is it Tsunade? That all this pain Naruto endured be enough to remove any hatred of Kyuubi from your soul? Well I won't side with you on this. I've put up with your gambling, drinking, and the occasional running from debt collector until the money was gathered to pay them off. But I won't stand by you on this matter. My loyalty is to the Fire Daimyo and Uzumaki Naruto," said Shizune seeing Tsunade's face now filled with shock and betrayal.

"You're betraying me? ME! AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU?" said Tsunade before she was restrained by several samurai.

"AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO NARUTO? EVEN NOW YOU DON'T FEEL ANY REGRET FOR BETRAYING HIM! NOR DOES HE!" yelled Shizune before she pointed a finger at Jiraiya, who stayed silent the entire time, and refused to look at the younger woman.

"HE KILLED KUSHINA! THAT MONSTER IS THE REASON SHE'S DEAD!" yelled Tsunade defiantly.

"ENOUGH!" yelled the Fire Daimyo making both women stop their verbal war before it got too out of control.

"Daimyo-sama, I humbly wish to appoint myself as Uzumaki Naruto's personal doctor, and pledge on my life to your service. I swear to never betray either of you," said Shizune bowing to the Fire Daimyo and wished for him to accept her request.

"I accept your request Shizune-san. After these two leave the capital for Konoha, I will arrange for you to see Naruto, and watch over him to ensure any severe injury can be healed," said the Fire Daimyo before motioning his guards to take the two Sannin out of the room and eventually out of his home.

"I will do everything in my power to protect Naruto," said Shizune, as she saw the Feudal Lord in front of her nod, and his face went from happy to serious.

"I will hold you to that Shizune. For the day you betray this vow is the day you die," said the Fire Daimyo with the woman nodding in accepting such a consequence.

Shizune had no intention of betraying the boy. She was _NOT _Tsunade.

(A/N: YAY! A new story. Its long because I honestly didn't know when I would get to write this after it floated around in my head. I felt compelled to write everything and just go crazy with it. I hope you like it. Until next time...PEACE!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Inquisition

Naruto panted, as he walked carefully on the wooden poles while blindfold, and readied his bo-staff for another assault by the Shinobi Monk in position to strike. At the moment, he was shirtless, wearing grayish GI pants the other Shinobi Monks wore, and his wrists tapped near his elbow. What was once a short, scrawny, and malnourished child was now a young warrior with lean muscle from years of constant training under his belt. At the moment, he was going through one of the many exercises at the Fire Temple, which were insane at first, but now after five long years of constant training, this was a walk in the park, and one of the boy's favorite pastime. When Naruto wasn't training with the Monks, he was training with Itachi, who had proved to be an interesting sensei, as he believed in not fighting unless necessary, and for a noble cause greater then himself. Something Itachi felt was what the Yondaime Hokage believed in and Naruto agreed was true too. Kyuubi didn't like the idea of an Uchiha being so close, making his thoughts known to Naruto with the blonde ignoring them for now, and focus on the man's training exercises.

"Steady Naruto," said Bansai seeing the boy dodge a strike before blocking another and moving quickly blocked another hit aimed for the back of his head.

Jumping into the air, Naruto landed on a wooden pole five down from his now previous position, and instantly sensed a Shinobi Monk trying to take the ground out from under him. Leaping to another wooded pole, the blonde felt the movement of the staff from the enemy staff below his feet before it could hit, and soon found himself in the enemy trap to attack him from nearly all sides. The Shinobi Monks attacked swiftly, decisively, and landed a few hits of the own on Naruto despite his best efforts in blocking them.

And they didn't hold anything back either. Still, Naruto had gotten through the pain when he first started this, and ignored it to keep pressing on until an opening appeared from a missed strike. Leaping away from his foes, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki expanded all his senses, and found some of the enemy moving to force him back into the trap. However, Naruto was not one to be trapped more then once, as struck back against several of them, hearing the cries of pain, and surprise at the change in his tactics. Others soon came at him so he couldn't catch his breath, but Naruto held his ground, and successfully repelled his enemy from his person.

"That's enough!" said Bansai seeing the Shinobi Monks obey and Naruto doing so several seconds after the command to ensure it wasn't a trick.

Removing his blindfold, Naruto wiped the wetness from his forehead, and looked down at his exposed torso to see the bruises there already fading. Shizune had given him a full medical exam the moment she arrived, wanting to see just how malnourished his body had been, and wasn't surprised to see his body had only just begun recovering from such a thing. She was glad the Shinobi Monks had begun countering the problem and was a little on guard when seeing Itachi at the Fire Temple. However, after the Uchiha Prodigy explained his purpose, Shizune was more at ease, and watched Naruto's training with a careful eye.

"How did I do Bansai-sensei?" said Naruto, as he leaped down from the training platform with the greatest of ease, and saw the old monk smile approvingly at him.

"Good. Though you have to still be mindful of your surroundings. You got hit quite a few times," said Bansai seeing Naruto nod in understanding.

"I know. But if I'm going to be great one day, I have to put myself in situations where I might be attacked, and hurt on all sides," said Naruto with Bansai nodding since there were cases where on Shinobi could be surrounded on all sides by the enemy.

"True. Now go get cleaned up and dressed my boy. Chiriku will be escorting you to the Fire Capital to see the Daimyo and for sword practice," said Bansai with Naruto nodding with excitement, but a controlled excitement with his energy being more focused, and mature for his age.

"Yes Bansai-sensei. Will I be training with Hajime Saito again?" said Naruto eagerly since the samurai was a man that embraced the ideal of the samurai.

"I don't know. Possibly. I must admit, we were all surprised when you asked to take up his sword style since you're not left handed. Why is that?" said Bansai with the blonde just grinning.

"It throws the enemy off. They see a right handed guy and don't expect him to use the sword with his left hand," said Naruto with Bansai liking that concept.

"I see. Interesting idea my boy. It will serve you well in the future," said Bansai with the boy nodding and running off to get ready.

"He's grown so much in the past five years. Its almost hard to imagine," said Chiriku, as the Shinobi Monk, and a member of the Guardian 12 walked over to Bansai to see the boy head to his room.

"Yes. That boy has the power to change the world. For good or for ill," said Bansai, as he saw the potential the boy had when they first started to train him with the bo-staff, and was impressed with the child's adaptation skills.

"It will be his choice to make in that regard. All we can do is make sure he is strong enough to take the journey down life's complex road," said Chiriku, as he had several talks with Asuma, which turned into heated arguments about the boy, and how the Third Hokage wanted the child back in Konoha.

Apparently, the Third Hokage, the Councils, and various other factions in Konoha felt the boy should stick to one path that allowed Konoha to prosper while others suffered for it. But the Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple knew better, as they had seen the boy's sheer potential, and knew it would be selfish to let such a thing not be shared by all those in need of it.

(Konoha-At the Moment)

The Sandaime Hokage looked at everyone in the room attending this meeting and knew the past five years had not been wonderful for the village. Far from it. After his return to Konoha, the Hokage convened a meeting with everyone, and informed them of what had happened with the Fire Daimyo. As expected, the meeting room went into an uproar, and various members on the Councils demanded Naruto be returned to Konoha to be killed. Others called for the boy to be interrogated and imprisoned for trying to manipulate the Daimyo with his demonic influence. They would not stand for the boy's actions that had drawn the Feudal Lord's eyes toward the village, which the Sandaime had spent a great deal of time, and effort in preventing by assuring the Fire Daimyo he could run Konoha without assistance.

Now the Fire Daimyo thought otherwise if the past five years was any indication.

It took roughly an hour for the Sandaime to quiet the voices down before telling them that the Fire Daimyo was less then pleased with the village and the audit being performed had revealed more unpleasant things that would soon bring down the Feudal Lord's wrathful hand. Apparently, the audit revealed Konoha spending more money then they apparently had on record, and a redirection of funds in various places had been discovered leading to Danzo's private security force. The Sandaime had "officially" disbanded the group for some time and had reintegrated all the Shinobi in the program into normal Shinobi ranks befitting their skill level. At the same time, the Sandaime allowed Root under his former rivals command using this excuse _provided_ that Root protected Konoha, and Danzo never used these Shinobi to undermine his authority. However, the audit revealed the program to be very much active, under a new title to get it "conveniently" around the Sandaime's order, and thus any action by the Daimyo at the moment on where the money was being sent.

The Feudal Lord was less then pleased since Root was still Root no matter how Danzo dressed it up and the Daimyo ordered that the Sandaime's former rival be forbidden from having any such force under his command. The old war hawk was silently fuming over that for days if not weeks after since all of his Shinobi were unable to move from the shadows under his direct command or else he would be executed for treason.

The auditing of Konoha's financial records had also revealed that both the Civilian and Shinobi Council had members in the two groups pilfering the funds from the Shinobi Academy account. The result of this had been the severe cutbacks on various programs and ultimately caused the Shinobi Academy to produce Shinobi not up to par with the older generation. Academy students weren't told how severe a life of a Shinobi was, but rather the glory, and history Konoha had since its founding. They became unprepared for the hardships that came with being a ninja with their senseis having to pick up the slack IF they graduated after taking the _real _test.

When Tsunade and Jiraiya returned to Konoha after their own chewing out from the Fire Daimyo, many were ecstatic about having the two Sannin back in the village. At least until they learned of the Feudal Lord of Fire Country ripping into them about their own neglect of their duties as Naruto's Godparents. When they told the Sandaime of their given punishment, the Hokage sighed in defeat knowing that any chance of finding, and extracting Naruto from the Fire Daimyo's grasp was not possible. If anyone could have found the boy before retrieving him, it would have been Jiraiya, but the Fire Daimyo had basically threw the Sannin into the largest prison in all of Fire Country that was Konoha, and told him to stay there until otherwise commanded.

That was five years ago.

Word of what happened regarding the Fire Daimyo's disapproval Konoha reached various ears of influential people and cliental with many questioning their decision to employ the services of Leaf Shinobi. It put a significant dent in the budget, as the Fire Daimyo was redirecting the mismanaged funds away from Konoha to the Namikaze, and Uzumaki Clan accounts while taxing the village heavily overall for their actions against the boy. Everyone was feeling the financial hit while many in Konoha wondering what they had done to deserve this action by the Fire Daimyo. Many blamed Naruto of course, but with the country's Feudal Lord supporting the boy, it was impossible to find, and punish the Kyuubi Jinchuriki in their own way.

Ironically, the actions of the Fire Daimyo had made the Uchiha Clan think twice about the coup. they wanted to perform against the Hokage, and take over Konoha since the village was now under the Feudal Lord's ire. To take it over now or anytime soon would just make the Uchiha Clan a target for the Fire Daimyo to remove the village off the face of the map. Plus with Itachi training Naruto, the boy could put in a good word with the Fire Daimyo about Uchiha Fugaku's eldest child, and get in the man's good graces.

"As you know, its been five years since Uzumaki Naruto was taken from Konoha by the Fire Daimyo, and discovered our actions against the boy. My son Asuma, who is one of the Guardian 12 was allowed to send me a message, and inform us that Naruto will be returning to Konoha soon," said the Sandaime with many perking up at this news.

"Good! The sooner we subdue and beat the demon into the ground again the better!" said a member of the Civilian Council while the Clan Heads shook their heads knowing that such an act would sign the village's death warrant.

"That's not possible. I have been informed Naruto will be coming to Konoha to examine the village in its entirety. That includes the people and how they will react to him being back in the village. Not only that, but the boy is going to be made an official Shinobi, but under the Fire Daimyo's _direct command_, and cannot be commanded by myself upon his arrival," said the Sandaime with many cursing this fact since the hoped that when the boy was made a Shinobi they could have the Hokage force the child into submission with his authority.

"So we just let him walk around without any action being taken?" said Homura, as he didn't agree with this at all, and saw Danzo gripping his cane tightly.

Not surprising since the man had lost practically everything from the Fire Daimyo audit and barely kept his position on the Councils at all.

"There is nothing we can do Homura. Uzumaki Naruto is under the protection and direct command of the Fire Daimyo," said the Sandaime Hokage with many on the Councils not liking this one bit.

"We would not be in this situation had you been straight with us from the start Hiruzen," said Inoichi with the Hokage stiffening at what the man was referring to about Naruto's parentage.

"Hold your tongue Yamanaka! You have no right to speak so disrespectfully to him like that," said Koharu seeing the Yamanaka raise an eyebrow at her.

"And why should I be respectful to him? Why should _any_ of the Clan Heads in this room be respectful? This man lied to us. He told us that Naruto was a no named orphan. How his last name was given in honor of Kushina and that was that. When we asked about the boy's Father, he told all of us in this _very room_ that Naruto's Father was dead, and refused to give a name. He implied the boy was an illegitimate child from some nameless woman from one of the seedy areas of Konoha," said Inoichi seeing the Hokage looking away from him.

"You made the people of Konoha believe Naruto deserved to only get the scrapes of food he ate out of the garbage. Don't think I'm exaggerating about that. I know because that's what he did at my home one night when he was five years old!" said Chouza heatedly at the Sandaime while the old Kage stayed silent.

"He wasn't exactly thrilled to trust others in Konoha either thanks to the attacks made by all the troublesome morons in this village. My wife tried to take him in one night. That was one of the coldest nights we had on record, but he took off running into the darkness, and chose the bitter cold over her help. He actually felt safer in that weather then being a guest in the home of his fellow villagers. What does that tell you?" said Shikaku finding the actions of this village to be a real eye opener.

"That brat deserves to suffer after all we've lost," said Haruno Midori, who was a Civilian Councilwoman, and had long since despised Uzumaki Kushina for snagging Minato.

Many years ago, Midori during her Academy days had dreamed of finding herself living a life of luxury despite seeking a career as a Shinobi, and saw that future with Namikaze Minato due to his skills one day being that of a prodigy. Midori knew Minato would one day be a Shinobi destined for greatness and tried during the years to get him interested in her. However, the future Yondaime Hokage did not embrace such flirtatious advances from Midori, and instead became interested in the red haired _freak_ with a temper that was Uzumaki Kushina. It was then Midori tried to remove Kushina all together, as she had heard Kumo was interested in the woman due to her bloodline limit, and decided to get rid of her by leaking information to them knowing they would act on it. The plan had been to remove the red haired Uzumaki and nab Minato in a moment of weakness she expected the man to feel at losing Kushina. Unfortunately, Minato had not crumbled like she thought, and had actually gone after the bitch with the two falling even deeper in love. It was at that point, Midori had given up being a Shinobi, and decided for a more _administrative_ based position within the Leaf that would favor her in being very close to Minato. The new plan involved she worm her way into Minato's heart, then his pants, and finally his fortune by seducing him to the point where Midori would give birth to his first child so the man would _have to _marry her. She would suffer through nine long Months of pregnancy, live with Minato for a few years, divorce him, and basically get paid child support in her dream house paid for by her future ex-husband's money.

Unfortunately, Kushina had once again beat her by marrying Minato _first_, and then had becoming pregnant with the man's child. When the Sandaime told everyone the boy's name, Midori knew right away it was Minato's child, but the fact Kushina was the boy's _Mother_, and not herself had made the pink haired woman irate inside. Hence why she had moved for the boy's immediate death, as Midori was going to see that Kushina's child was killed somehow, and being the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was the perfect excuse. Sadly, the old Kage wouldn't have it, clearly for long term reasons he wouldn't divulge, and Midori decided to make the boy's life a painful one to further spite Kushina.

Now it seemed the Gods above were once again conspiring against Midori to prevent her from getting revenge against Kushina for bagging Minato.

"Lost? You didn't lose anything! You wailed and cried about your home being damaged when we all know it was one of the few buildings to come out intact. Why you even got a nice sum of money is beyond me!" said Tsume angrily with Midori glaring back at her.

"Go chase a cat!" said Midori, as she had used that money to redesign her home in certain areas, and felt a good deal of satisfaction in using money from the Uzumaki Clan account to make it happen.

Until the Fire Daimyo's audit took money from her bank account equal to the amount taken from the Uzumaki Clan account to properly reimburse Naruto for taking it from him. For Midori, she felt Naruto was not worthy of such wealth, and felt such a fortune belong in her capable hands. Why should some demon child be entitled to such money when a more worthy and capable person could manage the funds? Midori wouldn't stand for it!

"Enough! Naruto will be arriving some time next week. I expect everyone in Konoha to be civil and polite to him. If we don't turn the Fire Daimyo and Naruto's opinion of us around we may lose all funding with our enemies coming to finish us off. I don't need to remind you of how the rest of the world has adopted a similar view after several things were brought to light by the inquisition made by our Feudal Lord," said the Sandaime, as he saw the various people in the room shift uncomfortably in their seats, and knew the Leaf was on thin ice at the moment.

One false step and they would fall through.

(Capital of Fire Country)

Naruto stood across from his teacher Hajime Saito. Both had swords at the ready, as the Fire Daimyo, Chiriku, Bansai, Itachi, and Shizune watched them intently to see how this match would go. Saito had been Naruto's teacher in the way of the samurai two years after training with the Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple in order for the boy to learn how to channel his energy properly while learning patience. Saito himself was a samurai of extreme discipline, who many said was the pure embodiment of Bushido, and did not take a student unless they showed great potential. Saito saw that potential in Naruto, as the two met at the Fire Daimyo's request, and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was honored to meet the man many claimed was in many aspects the samurai equivalent of the Yondaime Hokage himself.

Naruto trained under Saito rigorously since then, as he balanced his training with the Shinobi Monks, Itachi, and finally the Master Samurai warrior himself. They started off simple, as all students must, and trained using kendo sticks with Naruto being more on the receiving end of their matches. When they weren't sparring, Saito taught Naruto the principles of Bushido, how samurai embraced enlightenment like monks do, but unlike Monks a samurai stains his hands bloody like Shinobi do, and at the same time keep their honor by only drawing their swords in the name of their Daimyo when the time calls for it. Saito believed that if Monks are on one side that was light, Shinobi were on the other in shadowy darkness, then samurai were in the middle between them, and keeping an eye on both sides to ensure neither one moved against the Daimyo.

_CLANG!_

_CLANG!_

_CLANG!_

_CLANG!_

Saito's and Naruto's swords clashed violently against one another. Each one trying to push the other back with Saito slowly winning and Naruto moving to his right to make the samurai warrior's own momentum be used against him. However, Saito shifted his stance, and went left when Naruto moved right. The two clashed against each other, trying to get an advantage over the other, but neither one was succeeding, and both had very close calls. Their swords had cut through their opponents clothing, hair, and flesh though minor cuts at best.

"Enough!" said the Fire Daimyo when both of them had gone into the Gatotsu stance and knew they were getting serious.

"Based on my observations when fighting him, Uzumaki Naruto's speed is impressive for someone so young, and his skill with a sword is equally impressive. His level of patience is high, which one needs whether becoming a samurai, Shinobi, or a Monk," said Saito seeing Naruto bow to his teacher in hearing his praise.

"Is he ready to face the outside world?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing Saito look at Naruto with an intense analytical gaze.

"Yes," said Saito after several minutes with Naruto letting out a breath he didn't know was being held back.

"Do you agree Itachi? Chiriku?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing both nod.

"I believe he is ready," said Itachi simply.

"So do I," said Chiriku seeing Naruto's face showing he was grateful for their opinions of him being so positive.

"Very well. Uzumaki Naruto! As Fire Daimyo of Fire Country, I hereby declare you to be a Shinobi not only of Konoha, but a Shinobi under my _direct command_, and only answer to me. You are trained to be a warrior of light, dark, and a grey middle that allows you to walk these worlds. You will be messenger. My harbinger I send in my name to enforce my Will. My eyes and ears of the Leaf village. The defender of Fire Country and Feudal Lord. You work in the shadows to serve the light and smite all the evil that threatens us like your parents. Do you accept this great responsibility I have set before you Uzumaki Naruto?" said the Fire Daimyo seeing the boy now kneeling in front of him.

"Yes. I will be your harbinger. Your wish is my command," said Naruto before he was handed a Shinobi headband, _but _was different from the Konoha headband the village wore, and saw the key difference right away.

It had the Fire Daimyo's symbol instead of the symbol used on for the Leaf.

"Then rise and be recognized by all as my harbinger. Rise and be known as..._Namikaze_ _Uzumaki Naruto:_ _The Ying Yang Fox_!" said the Fire Daimyo with Naruto rising from his kneeling position, his headband now on his forehead, and saw his various senseis giving him a bow of respect.

"Thank you for the title Daimyo-sama. I am honored," said Naruto humbly with the Fire Daimyo, who just smiled at him, and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You will be given traveling rights to ensure there are no problems with your means of reaching this country's allies to deliver messages. Just because you will be a Shinobi under my direct command doesn't mean your missions involve killing people all over since it would bring about a bad reputation for the both of us. However, I feel your first mission should be _inside _Fire Country instead of out, and require your own _personal _inspection leading up to the Chuunin Exams being hosted in Konoha this year," said the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding and understanding what he was saying.

"And should the end results of my inspection of Konoha be less then encouraging? If they are found wanting?" said Naruto with the Fire Daimyo frowning slightly.

"Speak to me in a coded conversation. I'll read between the lines. The phrase for the Leaf passing will be 'the fire has been purified'. The phrase for their failure will be 'the fire has been corrupted' and I will order its liquidation soon after," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Naruto nod knowing it was time for Konoha to be judged.

(Konoha-A Few Days Later)

"He's finally here," said Jiraiya seeing Naruto walking into Konoha from his position the roof.

"The brat's lucky the Fire Daimyo is protecting him right now. I want nothing more then to choke the life right out of that brat!" said Tsunade, as she saw Itachi, and Shizune also walking with him into Konoha with the people in the village giving them a wide amount of space.

"Easy Tsunade-hime. This isn't a pampered kid were talking about down there. Look at the way he walks and the look of focus in his eyes. He's been trained to defend himself against any potential enemy. Maybe even against us. Even if you got your hands around his throat, I'd bet the kid would make you work for it, and leave more then a few bruises to remember him by," said Jiraiya, as she saw Naruto heading for the Hokage Tower, and wondered what the gaki had planned for the Sandaime.

"Well I'm going to enjoy seeing the Hokage reprimand Shizune and Itachi. Naruto maybe under the Fire Daimyo's protection, but they aren't, and its going to be pleasure seeing sensei rip right into them like the Daimyo did to us," said Tsunade before heading to the Hokage Tower with a smirk on her face.

"Something tells me it won't be that simple," said Jiraiya though it was more to himself then Tsunade.

And Jiraiya was right. It was not that simple. When Naruto entered the Hokage's Office, his escort of Itachi, and Shizune stayed outside so to stay away from the Hokage. The Namikaze instantly handed the Sandaime a Message Scroll with the Fire Daimyo's Seal and simply said "Read it" before the Kage could even say anything to him. Upon reading the message, the Sandaime Hokage let out a tired sigh of defeat, and nodding to the boy that he understood the order given. Curious, Jiraiya along with Tsunade entered the room after Naruto left once the Hokage gave the brat a nod, and the Toad Sannin read the scroll before his jaw dropped.

_Dear Hiruzen,_

_If you are reading this, then Konoha has decided to not act recklessly, and tried to harm Naruto like I suspected might happen. In case you are wondering, I have informed the boy of his heritage, and has been aware of what should be rightfully his from the start. You will in no way stop him from living in the Namikaze Estates, you will in no way try to manipulate him to be your prized weapon, and you will in no way allow the villagers to hurt Naruto. You will inform the Councils, Clans Heads, and the entire village populous of Naruto heritage if it isn't known already. If your two students so much as try anything violent with him, he has my permission to not only be violent back, **but** kill them if there is no other recourse, and see to it that **you **are punished for not stopping either Sannin. The same goes for every Shinobi of every rank under your command, as I won't tolerate any of them undermining **my authority**, and remind your village that it exists only because **I** allow it!_

_Signed_

_Fire Daimyo of Fire Country_

"This was not how I expected things to go when I first put my plan in motion for Naruto," said Hiruzen with Jiraiya reading the note over once, twice, and even three times while trying to process this in his head.

"There is not a plan in the world that can keep an Uzumaki down or even control. I warned you this might happen when I asked after things regarding the Kyuubi attack calmed down," said Jiraiya seeing the Sandaime scowl slightly.

"I know Jiraiya. You've been reminding me of this for the past five years! But I'm not ready to throw in the towel in regards to Naruto. He _will _serve Konoha and he _will _be its weapon in the manner I desire," said the Sandaime firmly to his former student.

"Careful sensei. Naruto isn't naive anymore. You can't manipulate him so easily," said Jiraiya while the Sandaime growled at him.

"He's still young and I'm not out of the game yet," said the Sandaime before the sound of fighting echoed in the village below.

"Oh no!" said Jiraiya having forgotten that Tsunade was also in the room, but the female Sannin didn't read the message since was expecting to see Shizune get a scolding from the Sandaime, and prey on the seed of guilt the Hokage would plant.

"Stop her Jiraiya. Now!" said the Sandaime seeing Jiraiya leap out of the window to the sound of battle.

(Konoha Streets)

"Hold still brat!" said Tsunade, as she tried to slug the blonde boy right in the face, but Naruto was too small, too agile, and too fast a target to land a descent punch.

"You are making a mistake in doing this Tsunade-san. Such behavior is unbefitting for my Godmother," said Naruto with his words enraging the woman further and trying even harder to land a head exploding punch to the boy's skull.

"Shut up! You are the reason your Mother is dead. Did anyone tell you that? That your Mother's dying breath was caused by you taking your first one? No? Well it was!" said Tsunade hitting the ground while Naruto leaped onto a building, his face unreadable, but his eyes blazed with fury, and narrowed at the blonde Senju before him.

"You think I don't know what happened that night? Kyuubi told me everything. He told me how he was responsible for her death when my Father tried to seal him into me. How the fox tried to achieve freedom and not be caged again by trying to kill me so there was no one to seal him away. I know my Mother took the clawed strike that was meant for me that night," said Naruto, as the Kurama had told him everything that happened, and even showed the boy his memories of it.

It was a hard to take such a moment in when Kurama had revealed the truth of that night and his true name to be Kurama with Kyuubi just being a title. Not that boy was going to reveal that to anyone, except the Fire Daimyo of course, as the Feudal Lord needed to be told the truth about this, and keep his teachers in the dark about that should certain forces try to extract information from their minds. If certain parties were to learn about what had happened that night, they might try to find a way to duplicate it regardless if the eyes of the Sharingan were involved, and thus make things worse in the long run should they decide to rip Kurama right out of Naruto's body.

"And you listened to him? Believed him? That wretched demon, who has slain so many, and been a bane on Konoha?" said Tsunade ripping a pole out of the ground and getting ready to use it like a weapon.

Possibly a javelin from what Naruto could see judging by her stance with it.

"He's not the one trying to kill me for something that wasn't my fault," said Naruto like he was talking about the weather and it pissed off Tsunade more.

"Tsunade stop!" said Jiraiya, as he appeared behind her, and summoned several armored Toads that now surrounded her either side.

"Why? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't crush him right now!" said Tsunade, as she continued to look at Naruto, and the boy looked back unafraid.

"Because if you don't, then the village suffers, and so will sensei. The Fire Daimyo gave Naruto a message to give sensei and it states any attack on him is an attack on the Feudal Lord of Fire Country. A Feudal Lord, who _owns_ the lands this village is founded on, and can take the right for this village to be here _away_!" said Jiraiya with Tsunade struggling right now at the notion of letting Naruto walk away from her without a scratch.

"Fine! But this isn't over brat!" said Tsunade before dropped the pole and left while she stomped the ground heavily so it shook so everyone knew her displeasure.

"Happy?" said Jiraiya sarcastically to Naruto after he jumped down to the ground.

"That's a one time freebee for the village. The next person, who tries that will be slain, and will be a nail in Konoha's coffin," said Naruto before walking away from the Toad Sannin.

"You're lucky Tsunade didn't kill you gaki. One hit from her and you'd be dead instantly," said Jiraiya with Naruto stopping and looking back at him.

"No. Tsunade's lucky I didn't go all out and kill _her _when I could have drawn my sword at _any_ time. I maybe young, but for the past five years I have been constant training, and honing my skills to one day surpass my Father. I intend to see just how far I've become in that regard reeaaal soon," said Naruto before he was gone in a swirl of leaves with Jiraiya stunned.

Appearing in another section of Konoha, the son of the Yondaime walked through its streets unafraid of its people, and what harm they might try to unleash on him. Many people were glaring, as they recognized him due to his whisker marks, and immediately began whispering curses at him. It was so pathetic in Naruto's mind. He almost felt sad for the fools, but then reminded himself that such an emotion would prevent him from being objective, and influence the overall decision to be made about Konoha's future.

If Konoha even _had _a future.

Stopping, Naruto turned to look into an alley to see some kind of fight going on against one person fighting many, and by the looks of things the outnumbered person was losing. Curious, yet cautious all the same, the blonde walked towards the group to find it was a drunk group of Chuunin, and one Jounin holding down a single kuniochi. Judging from the vest she wore, the woman was Chuunin rank, and was from the Inuzuka Clan if the marks on her face were any indication. Walking through the shadows of the alley, Naruto examined his surroundings for this area, and gauging how to fight these fools.

"Dumb bitch! You Inuzuka think you're tough shit. Well your not!" said the Jounin of the group, who was clearly the leader of them, and stunk the most of booze.

"I'll kill you for this," said the Inuzuka woman, as she was bound by the group, and tried to fight them when they removed the Chuunin vest with them hooting like the pigs they were.

"Even if she's wearing a black tank top under this vest, you can tell this bitch's got some nice tits, and not even a bra. I think she was using the vest as one," said one Chuunin, who was holding the vest, and saw it was tightened just for such a purpose.

'Damn it! I would have worn a bra or bindings if some of the more rowdy dogs didn't go nuts in my room before my last mission,' thought the Inuzuka woman seeing them all laughing now.

"It makes you wonder if she's wearing any panties," said the Chuunin from behind their prey.

"She's an Inuzuka! Of course not. All the women in the clan are submissive horny bitches that just need a man's cock to put them in their place. Strip her!" said the Jounin while the Chuunin around him moved to do just that when the sound of footsteps were heard from behind them.

"Have you no shame? Are you _that _dishonorable?" said Naruto coldly seeing the group of Chuunin and one Jounin look at him with snarls on their faces.

"Back off brat! This is for adults only. You may have a headband, but you're still a brat, and by the time your body is physically ready this bitch will be already be used up," said the Jounin before going back to the Inuzuka and ripped her top open.

"This is your last chance. Walk away. Walk away or I will make you beg for death," said Naruto while his hand tightened and turned into fists while the leather fingerless gloves made a noise in the process.

"You're still here? Get the brat!" said the Jounin with two of his Chuunin buddies moving to remove the blonde from the alley and possibly rough him up elsewhere before getting back in time get their own shot in with their quarry.

"Fools," said Naruto coldly, as he moved swiftly against the two drunks moving against him, and one's arm while shattering the other's knee before having both their necks in his hands.

"Hey! Let them go Genin. That's an order!" said the Jounin while his two Chuunin pals were being choked out by this upstart Genin.

"You have no right to command me _worm_! I don't answer to a rapist much less a rapist of Jounin rank in this village," said Naruto before the sound of two crushed larynxes echoed in the alley and the blonde dropped them.

"Get him! First one to kill the brat gets to take this Inuzuka's virgin ass!" said the Jounin seeing his other Chuunin followers charged forward while the leader of the group held onto the Inuzuka woman painfully by her hair.

"There is only one thing worse then a fool and its a group of _blind_ fools that follow him!" said Naruto in an emotionless tone his Uchiha for sensei would be proud to hear.

The group of Chuunin didn't know what hit them, as Naruto unleashed his wrath upon them all, and struck without mercy. He broke one Chuunin's leg in three places, followed by the rib cage in five, and both arms in six. Another Chuunin was hit in the throat with a single punch and was slowly choking to death from the lack of oxygen. Naruto then took out the last two Chuunin by stabbing them in the legs with kunai, cutting through the tendons of each limb before simply getting behind his foes and then striking their backs with those very weapons.

"Stay back! Stay back or I'll slit her throat!" said the Jounin with a kunai to the woman's throat while seeing Naruto looking at him unafraid.

"You won't kill her," said Naruto calmly while the Jounin snarled at him.

"And what makes you believe that?" said the Jounin while putting the kunai closer to the Inuzuka's throat.

"Because the instant you slit her throat, I will have all the time I need to kill you, and it will not be quick. It will be slow. Painful. Every moment of every minute of every second will be that of untold agony. Is that what you want?" said Naruto coldly, as he drew his sword, and went into his Gatotsu stance, and saw the Jounin was shocked to see it.

"You're no Shinobi. You're a samurai!" said the Jounin with Naruto smirking at him.

"No. I'm something else. Look at my headband," said Naruto seeing the Jounin doing just that and almost stumbled back from his hostage.

"That's the symbol for the Fire Daimyo. You're similar to the Guardian 12 sashes!" said the Jounin seeing the boy smirk in a more wolfish manner.

"Similar, yet different. I am the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo. I am Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto: The Ying Yang Fox!" said Naruto, as he rushed forward faster then the Jounin expected, and was stabbed through the arm holding the kunai into the chest area.

"You are the...the Kyuubi...brat!" said the Jounin while feeling his life fading while he looked at the boy's cold blue eyes.

"I'm also the son of the Yondaime or didn't my last name make that clear?" said Naruto with the Jounin looking shocked in hearing this.

"You? The Yondaime's...son? That's impossible!" said the Jounin while blood leaked from the side of his mouth.

"Hardly impossible. You really think the Yondaime would use just _any _child? Who better to entrust the fox to then his own offspring? His progeny!" said Naruto before twisting the blade to make the man cry out in pain before finally slumping to the ground dead.

Pulling out his sword, Naruto flicked it clean of the crimson liquid, and then sheathed his weapon before walking over to the downed Inuzuka woman. She was in shock that he had just killed or crippled a group of Chuunin and one Jounin in such a short time. What was left of her shirt covered her upper body enough to prevent him from seeing too much of the female body many perverts would get nosebleeds over, but it was clear the blonde wasn't interested in taking over what these rapists started, and freed her arms from their bindings before holding out a hand for her to take.

"Thank you for saving me," said the woman, as she took his hand, and he easily lifted her off the ground in an instant.

"You shouldn't have been put through that," said Naruto seeing her nod before the area was covered with Shinobi in the area.

"You are under arrest for assault, murder, and attempted rape of Konoha Shinobi," said a female ANBU wearing a Neko mask with her unit at the ready and several other Shinobi providing support.

"Wait! Wait! _They _tried to rape me. _He_ saved me," said the Inuzuka while some of the Leaf Shinobi looked at each other with skeptical looks.

"This kid?" said one of the ANBU wearing a Hawk mask.

"The boy...is the...rapists! He has...the... the woman under a...Genjutsu! Kill...him! He is...the Kyuubi!" said one of the down Chuunin still alive while trying to crawl away.

"Kai!" said the Neko masked ANBU in order to break any Genjutsu that maybe in the area.

There was none.

"They tried to rape me. Naruto-san saved me," said the Inuzuka woman again with the Chuunin on the ground injured trying to get away even faster.

"Here. This should cover you up more," said Naruto handing the woman her Chuunin vest.

"Thank you Naruto-san. I'm Inuzuka Hana. The eldest of the Inuzuka Clan Matriarch's children," said Hana, as she took the Chuunin vest, and wore it to cover her upper body.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Though you knew that when I killed the Jounin leading the group of rapists," said Naruto with a smirk and Hana smiling at him though there was a hint of a glare behind it.

"Smart ass," said Hana though she mumbled it.

"We need to file a report about this with the Hokage and the two of you have to come with us," said Neko with Naruto and Hana nodding before heading to the Hokage Tower.

"Not a bad first day for him Shizune-san," said Itachi having watched Naruto fight and kill the rapist targeting Hana.

They had long since talked to Naruto about his first kill since his training started. Even going so far as to put a Genjutsu on the boy where he was attacked and the only way to win was to kill. Itachi even used a Blood Clone to make it more realistic. It had been a bit nauseating for the boy, but education in the sense of understanding the need to kill your enemy, and at the same time not lose your humanity in the process. It had been harsh lesson, but one Naruto was thankful to learn now instead of when the first kill made him want to puke over it. He was combination of Shinobi, Monk, and samurai with killing being in the job description of two out of three while the one understood the concept of death being part of the natural order of things.

"I suppose. Death was too merciful for some of those bakas!" said Shizune, as she had almost gone down there to beat the life right out of those Konoha Shinobi, but Itachi told her Naruto had to do it, or else the training they had put him through would mean nothing in the long run.

"Considering the crime they were committing, I doubt the afterlife will be pleasant to any of them, and even less once Ibiki-san unleashes his skills on those still alive," said Itachi with Shizune nodding in agreement.

"We better go. Tsunade and Jiraiya are most likely looking for us," said Shizune with Itachi nodding knowing his Father was going to be doing the same too.

(Hokage Tower)

"So Naruto stopped some rapists. I thank you for that intervention," said the Sandaime with a kind Grandfatherly smile.

"Save your apologies. The fact such fools exist in this village just proves how far the Leaf has fallen. If you were really a strong Hokage, you would have made sure such an act was not possible during the day, and the fact they were intoxicated doesn't excuse them either. You've been letting this village fall from what my Father created when he was Hokage of Konoha ever since you came back into this office," said Naruto seeing the Sandaime scowl slightly at him.

"Watch your tone Naruto. I am the Hokage in Konoha. My word is law in this village," said the Hokage in a firm tone while Naruto seemed unaffected and Hana was watching this sudden battle between these two.

"And _I _am the harbinger of the Fire Daimyo. I am his _Herald_. I enforce _his _Will! _His_ law! He is the highest authority in all of Fire Country and the Leaf village is in _his _country. Meaning his word surpasses yours and is the rightful law of the land. So don't try to use your title here to make me do your bidding because it won't work in the slightest. The Fire Daimyo has decreed me beyond your command, control, and coercion in doing what _you _want me to do. If there is a mission you wish to give with orders to kill a hundred ANBU from Kumo with the outcome being Konoha falling should I fail, I am allowed to turn it down, and not care in the slightest if this village does fall because of that one mission. I work for the Fire Daimyo. Not you old man," said Naruto seeing the Sandaime scowl deepen.

"Be as that may. You are forbidden to kill anymore of my Shinobi since they are more valuable alive then dead," said the Sandaime despite what the message the Fire Daimyo had written for him to read.

"If the Shinobi in this village commit anymore dishonorable acts like that or worse which are not sanctioned missions then I would have to disagree with you," said Naruto with the old Kage not liking that one bit.

"By killing them, you weaken Konoha, and ultimately Fire Country!" said the Sandaime seeing Naruto raise an eyebrow at him.

"Which will be your fault in the long run because you allow such things to happen under your very nose. What punishment would you have given those rapists had I not intervene and they had been caught already violating this woman?" said Naruto seeing Hana stiffen knowing that Shinobi response time to incidents in the village had been getting slower and it was pure luck the blonde had come to her rescue.

"They would have been taken to Morino Ibiki, who I'm sure you have heard of, and know he is not someone to cross when sent his way," said the Sandaime seeing Naruto nod, but he was hardly impressed with the punishment, and in a way so was Hana.

"And? Asides from what other punishment would you unleash on them?" said Naruto, as he wanted more then just the infamous man of the Torture & Interrogation department, and something more realistic.

"I don't know what you mean Naruto. Ibiki has put people in the mental hospital," said the Sandaime Hokage seeing the boy scowl.

"That's not enough. They should be publicly executed," said Naruto simply like it was the easiest answer in the world.

"That's a bit extreme Naruto," said the Sandaime seeing the boy scowl at him now.

"One of my teachers follows a simple yet strict code. The code he follows is 'Swift death to evil!' and that means everyone committing acts evil must be slain," said Naruto seeing the Sandaime was shocked _someone _like that had taught the boy.

"Many in Konoha and on the Councils would argue that you should be put to death under that same code," said the Sandaime with Naruto scoffing at him.

"Then the people in Konoha and your Councils don't understand the principle of the code taught to me by my sensei," said Naruto seeing the Sandaime scowling further.

"You're talking about killing someone for doing an evil act when they could easily regret it later on. We must show mercy when permitted," said the Sandaime seeing Naruto now have a deeper scowl of his own.

"Like the mercy you showed me? Like the villagers showed me? Like the Shinobi in the village showed me? My Father and Mother wouldn't exactly be jumping with joy at what you tried to do," said Naruto with the Sandaime forcing his face not to make a snarl like look though the blonde could see the facial muscles moving to do it before then.

"Your Father and Mother entrusted you to me so the village would be protected. I did what I had to do," said the Sandaime seeing Naruto eyes become cold like glaciers in the arctic with the room suddenly feeling just as cold.

Hana was looking between the two and felt like a fly on the wall that shouldn't be here listening to this. She couldn't leave now! Oh Kami no! If she so much as moved a hand, a leg, or so much as talked it would redirect the two in her direction.

'I feel like I'm in a Soap Opera!' thought Hana since these two were glaring at each other to the point where she once suspected kunai would shoot out of their eyes.

"If that were true, then you wouldn't have revealed I was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and just had me listed as an orphan like all the other children in that place. If what you just said was true, then you wouldn't have had my Godparents access to my inheritance, and let the village spend what was not theirs to take from me. Do you think my parents would have wanted that? Do you think they would have tolerated that?" said Naruto seeing the Third Hokage's facial muscles trying to form a snarl now.

"The village comes first Naruto. Konoha's survival requires you make sacrifices so that this village stays strong," said the Sandaime seeing Naruto scoffing at him like he was an idiot.

"So according to that line of thought...you would agree _without question_ that its okay for Konoha to survive if it required the entire Sarutobi Clan to die horrible, painful, and all around inhumane deaths. That they should all suffer without being told why, only that they should die, and they should die slowly," said Naruto seeing the Sandaime scowling at him.

"That's not what I meant!" said the Sandaime with Naruto raising an eyebrow at him.

"Are you saying that because I'm wrong? Or are you saying that because I used your own family as an example?" said Naruto seeing the Sandaime snarling now.

"Both!" said the Hokage angrily with Naruto just smirking now while moving to the door to leave.

"They should call you the Hypocrite of Shinobi," said Naruto while letting out chuckle at the Sandaime's expense.

"Watch your mouth boy! You will respect me while in Konoha regardless of your unique rank," said the Sandaime with Naruto smirk growing.

"You talk of respect, but I don't see the need to give it to an old hypocrite for a Hokage, and never will despite your desire to control me. I am not this village's personal weapon. I am not your _pet_! You and the rest of the Leaf village live at this very moment because I _allow _it. When my inquisition regarding Konoha is over, the Fire Daimyo will decide if he should spare the Leaf his wrath, or more then likely..._burn it down_!" said Naruto, as he left the room, and ignored the Sandaime looking ready to blow a blood vessel in his head.

'Insolent child! Konoha lives because he allows it? He lived for the first seven years of his life because _I _allowed it. No matter. I will see to it the boy works for Konoha one way or another before making the Daimyo regret his interference in taking this village's main weapon away!' thought the Sandaime before eyeing Hana in the room and realized the entire time he had been talking to Naruto had steered the reason for the boy being there with the Inuzuka.

"If you'll excuse me Hokage-sama, but I'm going home now, and speak to my Mother about the incident," said Hana before she was gone in a swirl of leaves.

'Great! Now Tsume will have an interest in protecting Naruto for saving her daughter's life,' thought the Sandaime knowing the Inuzuka Clan was not a clan to mess with and anyone they supported had significant sway with the other clans.

The Sandaime knew with the Inuzuka Clan supporting the boy, then the Aburame Clan would take an interest too, and it would continue from there until _all _the clans followed in their footsteps. The Hyuuga Clan could halt the sway of clan support if he could find a reason to smear Naruto's actions in some way that would earn him scorn from a few of the clans. It would divide the clans in terms of their support of each other and could give those that mattered a sympathetic shoulder to lean on while asking for support on certain matters. Unfortunately, there were no Hyuuga in any place in, or out of the village that could be manipulated into scorning Naruto before letting it spread like a disease.

But how? Who among the Hyuuga Clan could possibly provoke the boy and make the damn Uzumaki brat look like villain?

Thinking over the list of Hyuuga out in the village, who he could use against Naruto, the Sandaime found there was only _one_ such Hyuuga at the moment, and use the boy to his advantage. His name? Hyuuga Neji: Rookie of the Year from the previous graduating class.

All the Hokage needed was an opening where Neji would welcome the idea of fighting and wounding Naruto to the point where the boy would lose face with the Daimyo upon the Feudal Lord seeing how pathetic the boy is without Konoha. That the boy should stay in the Leaf and be "reeducated" so the Kyuubi Jinchuriki could become a proper Shinobi instead of this abomination the Fire Daimyo had created. Whatever Naruto had become was something that the Sandaime considered a combination of things that should not be put together and intended to fix that so the boy was the village weapon the way _he _saw the Jinchuriki should have been. Submissive. Loyal. Completely dependant on Konoha for everything and should the boy actually _succeed_ in becoming Hokage...? Well, the Sandaime would have put measures in place before his second attempt at retirement or even death stopped him from making sure Naruto's time being Hokage was a short one. Minato had surpassed him in everything and at such a young age too. It hurt the Third Hokage's pride knowing all he had accomplished leading up to his retirement had been overshadowed by Jiraiya's student during the last Shinobi War.

It was not even his own _choice_ to have Minato become the Yondaime Hokage in the first place despite what many thought about the decision. It had been forced by the people in Konoha when they had learned of the Sandaime Hokage seeking to retire and a successor to the title of Hokage being looked into. The Sandaime had actually planned to give the title of Hokage to Orochimaru, but the people were openly supportive of Minato during the war while many felt the snake Sannin's appearance to be disgusting, and the discovery of the man's twisted experiments had forced _his_ favorite student to flee from Konoha. The Minato wanted to confront Orochimaru himself, but the Sandaime convinced the young Hokage it was a matter between a teacher, and his favored student in hopes of resolving things peacefully.

Of course, the Sandaime had no intention of killing his old student, as the Sannin had been cheated out of something that was rightfully his to have, _and _he also knew Minato would have killed Orochimaru without hesitation. Orochimaru knew this too, as he had been warned ahead of time by the Sandaime himself of the impending raid, and made it look like the aging former Hokage failed to kill the Sannin due to a sense of Fatherly based sentimentality. The ANBU that had been killed in that room had made it all the more real in believing that was the case. In fact, the dead ANBU in that room were the only ones capable of sensing the deception the two played, and would have reported it to Minato had any of them been allowed to live.

(Namikaze Estates-Sometime Later)

Naruto looked around. The place was dusty. No one had been here for so many years and he could thank the Sandaime along with his Godparents for that. The Security Seals on the home kept any intruders from entering and Naruto would bet his whisker marks that many had tried within the hour of the Yondaime's death. Only someone of Namikaze or Uzumaki blood could enter from what Naruto saw of the seal designs all over the house. Though it seemed a last minute modification was made before the Kyuubi attack, as the seals had been designed to only accept blood from the rightful person doing it of their own volition, and was determined by the chakra put into the seal with the blood. Since Naruto's chakra had been influx during most of his horrible childhood due to Kurama, any such attempt to use him with his blood would have failed, and no doubt anyone with the desire to raid this home would have to wait until around this time when it was even remotely possible.

'I have a lot to do here and not enough time,' thought Naruto while seeing a picture of his parents on a piece of furniture with some other pictures. Some showing Yondaime with his teacher, his students, and of course of Kushina herself. There was even one where she was strangling the man during one of her violent mood swings late into her pregnancy. In all likelihood Naruto would venture a guess that his Mother was blaming his Father for getting her pregnant and looking like a beached whale.

_**"Ah yes. I remember that one. I could hear Kushina yelling at Minato for over an hour and hearing him crying out in pain from the vicious beating she gave that day,"**_ said Kurama while letting out an amused chuckle knowing the great Yondaime Hokage was reduced to a whimpering mess by his pregnant wife.

'Any ideas on how to clean this up faster,' thought Naruto after focusing on the task at hand to clean up this place.

_**"I say the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Its a good thing Itachi knew how to use that Jutsu for when he wanted you to multitask in your training regiment with him,"**_ said Kurama with Naruto smirking at him.

'Did you just _compliment_ an Uchiha?' thought Naruto with a grin on his face and the fox just growled at him.

_**"You're never going to let me live that one down...are you?" **_said Kurama with Naruto letting out a chuckle.

'Nope!' thought Naruto with the fox grumbling about how his vessel had him by the balls and it wasn't fair while Naruto ignored him to make Shadow Clones of himself.

A knock came to the door and Naruto answered to see Inuzuka Hana with another older woman, who Naruto could easily guess was the younger woman's Mother, and he also had an idea of what they were here to see him about. Not surprising since Hana would have gone directly home and told the Inuzuka Matriarch everything that happened in that alley.

"Namikaze Naruto I presume?" said the Inuzuka Matriarch though she could tell it was him since only a Namikaze could enter this clan home.

"You presume correct. I presume you are Inuzuka Clan's Matriarch and Hana's Mother?" said Naruto seeing the woman smirk at him in an almost wolfish manner.

"That's correct. My name is Inuzuka Tsume. Can we come in?" said Tsume with Naruto nodding before letting the two into his home.

"Its a little dusty still since I just came home to clean so my apologies in advance if your noses become irritated from the dust or various smells lingering within the house," said Naruto while walking into the living room to find the army of Shadow Clones had done a terrific job.

"Its no problem. I'm surprised you can make Shadow Clones or know how to clean given you're so young," said Tsume with her and Hana watching the army of Naruto's working to make the place shine.

"The Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple were excellent teachers," said Naruto, which was true, and had done many hours of cleaning like the other Shinobi Monks at the temple.

"I bet. Listen, the reason I'm here is because I wanted to thank you for saving Hana from the horrible act those bakas were about to do, and the overall shame the village would have made her face," said Tsume with Naruto looking confused and Hana squirmed a bit with nervousness.

"I don't understand," said Naruto seeing Tsume nod since he was young and did not fully understand the politics of clans within Konoha in their connection to the village.

"I'll explain. Had Hana suffered through _that_, the Jounin along with his Chuunin buddies would have no doubt done more then just defile her body. They would have gone after her spirit and honor by telling a perverting truth of what they did to the village with all sorts of rumors spreading soon after. People would have called her a 'whore', a 'bitch in heat', and other vile names with the rumors getting so far out of control I would be forced to exile Hana from the clan," said Tsume sadly.

"She would be ostracized for something that wasn't true, yet the people believed was, and anyone that saw through the rumors would be in the minority. She would be alone with no real way to help your daughter being remotely possible and her rapists laughing at her expense regardless if they were punished in the end," said Naruto seeing Tsume nod.

"Yes. From Hana has told me, you heard them accuse the Inuzuka Clan of having sired submissive women, and need to be dominated to be kept in place. That's a lie. I don't know if you chose to believe anything they said in their drunken state, but all Inuzuka women have always been proud, and strong members of the clan," said Tsume with Naruto nodding in agreement.

"I don't doubt it. Hana showed a great deal of defiance and courage against them. If that's not strength, then I don't know what is, and neither does the Leaf village if they were to do what you say they would have done if those rapists succeeded," said Naruto with the Inuzuka Clan Matriarch nod firmly at that statement.

"I intend to see those that lived suffer greatly for this. Until then, I have a favor to ask of you, and promise it will be repaid if accepted," said Tsume with Naruto looking a tad bit interested while Hana protested.

"Mom! I'm not a child. I'm a grown woman!" said Hana though it fell on deaf ears.

"You are a _growing_ _teenager _Hana!" said Tsume while glaring slightly at Hana.

"What is the favor?" said Naruto curiously.

"I was hoping you could be an extra pair of eyes and use those skills of yours to protect Hana from any future harm. Many don't know this, but Inuzuka women are considered a prize to perverted men, who wish to claim they've bagged one in a sexual romp, and all that horrible mess I mentioned earlier," said Tsume with Hana blushing slightly while trying to hide her embarrassment in needing her Mother's ask for help on this matter.

"That my prove difficult. I am here because the Fire Daimyo wishes me to review the Leaf by the Chuunin Exams being hosted in Konoha this year. From what I've seen so far from this one day, the village doesn't have much time left, and your problem will resolve itself when the Fire Daimyo decides to liquidate the Leaf," said Naruto with both Inuzuka women looking shocked by this news.

"But you've only been here one day!" said Hana with Naruto looking at her and then at Tsume.

"True. However, I have already seen, and heard enough to tell the Fire Daimyo the Leaf's end is coming soon regardless if I stay for another week. You can't possibly tell me that life in Konoha has been great for everyone after my Father died all those years ago?" said Naruto seeing Tsume and Hana looking at each other before looking back at him.

"Will you do what you can in helping Hana?" said Tsume with Naruto looking at her, then at Hana, and then back at the Inuzuka Clan Head.

"I'll do what I can Tsume-san, but like I said before my time is limited," said Naruto with Tsume nodding and getting up from her seat with Hana doing the same.

"That's all I ask Naruto-san," said Tsume with Naruto getting up to escort the two out of his home.

_**"You can gain a great deal of political favor from this,"**_ said Kurama knowing that one clan backing Naruto could lead to others if his cards were played right.

'I know Kurama. But I can't concern myself with that right now. I need to get settled here and then work on furthering my investigation regarding the Sandaime's actions since that night. Not to mention any and all conspirators he may have had in my suffering,' thought Naruto while assisting his Shadow Clones in cleaning up the place.

(Several Days Later)

The Sandaime watched Naruto going through all the mission scrolls C-ranked and higher given out the previous few weeks to various teams. The Councils had been infuriated that the boy was untouchable by the Fire Daimyo and the Civilian Council called for some manner of protest be made against the Feudal Lord in the belief their actions would force the man to listen to them. The Hokage told them it wasn't possible, as the Fire Daimyo was not a spineless man, and Konoha was a small dot on the map of Fire Country. In short, they would have to put up, and shut up about this action...for the moment anyway.

As for Naruto, he was doing an inquiry into all missions given recently, and questioning the Hokage's judgment regarding the qualifications of those sent to complete them. So far, the boy had found little in the ways of fault on who went where for what missions, but when Naruto picked up a C-ranked mission where Genin team 7 was sent to Wave Country to escort an old man there, and saw the special seal to make it classified added recently below under the "mission parameters changes" before unsealing it.

_Warning: Urgent message from Jounin sensei Hatake Kakashi. Leader of Genin team 7 tells the mission has encountered enemy Shinobi of A-rank caliber hired by Gato of Gato Shipping Co. The mission is now A-rank and Jounin sensei is requesting backup from Konoha to reinforce Genin 7 immediately!_

Eying the date of this change being received, Naruto's eyes widened seeing the Jounin's message had reached the Hokage nearly a _week ago_, and there was no indication of the Genin team in Wave Country getting their much needed backup. If team 7 and the client weren't dead already...they soon would be if their foe would see to it soon.

But why? Why not send backup to team 7? Surely the Hokage had a team to spare that was more then capable of helping them. So...why?

Going over the original mission assignment, Naruto saw the names Genin team 7, and his eyes looked over the three names. A boy named Sai with no name, one Haruno Sakura, and...what? It couldn't be?

_Uchiha Sasuke_? Itachi's younger brother!

_**"Oh no. You're going to rescue the Uchiha brat, aren't you?"**_ said Kurama, but he knew the reason already, and only because the boy on team 7 was Itachi's little brother.

'If I don't, then the Uchiha will die, and Itachi will suffer for it. I can't let that happen!' thought Naruto with Kurama nodding in agreement.

_**"Fine! But for the record, if this kid is some brooding emo, who wants power, and acts like the world owes him everything...I am going to be so pissed off," **_said Kurama, as he felt Naruto smirk, and knew how the fox hated the Uchiha Clan for the most part.

'Me too Kurama,' thought Naruto before taking the mission scroll and heading out the door with a surprised Sandaime calling out for him to stop.

Naruto didn't have the time nor patience to deal with the old Kage at this moment.

(Uchiha Clan District)

Itachi sighed internally while trying to remain calm and his mind centered while this meeting with his Father dragged on with the man. Ever since the Uchiha Clan Prodigy came home, he had been hounded each day with a meeting by his sire, and wanting to know how much influence the clan had with the Fire Daimyo. It was the same old thing everyday with that man. Does the Uchiha Clan have the Daimyo's ear? Will he listen to you if a suggestion is made? What did you teach the Kyuubi Jinchuriki? Where did you teach the Kyuubi Jinchuriki? It was all the same. Fugaku himself wasn't exactly thrilled his eldest was training the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, as he felt the boy's continued existence had been the source of the Uchiha Clan's scorn by certain members of Konoha's government, and had wished to boy killed on more then one occasion.

Up until five years ago when everything changed.

Originally, Fugaku had planned for the Uchiha Clan to perform a coup. against the Third Hokage, and take control of Konoha to right the injustice placed upon them. However, the scandal regarding the Kyuubi Jinchuriki had placed the Sandaime in such a bad light that taking over would earn the Uchiha Clan scorn from the Fire Daimyo, and put him the crosshairs of the Feudal Lord's wrathful hand. If the village was going to be liquidated, then Fugaku was going to let it happen while waiting for the rebuilding to start, and then "humbly" nominate himself to be new Kage of _Neo Konoha_.

"Tell me Itachi! Tell me the Uchiha Clan is favored by what you've done in teaching the Kyuubi Jinchuriki!" said Fugaku eagerly, as he wanted an answer from his eldest of his progeny, and saw Itachi keeping any form of emotion from his face.

"He has a name Father. Call him by it," said Itachi, as he saw Fugaku scowling at him, and knew his Father did not want to even call Naruto by his name.

"What did you teach _Naruto_?" said Fugaku with the man trying his hardest to say boy's name and even remembering it.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with Father. I didn't reveal any secrets regarding the Sharingan," said Itachi though technically he did in regards to _countering _the Sharingan with the help of the Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple using the basic principle behind the Sharingan requiring eye contact from the enemy to work properly.

Don't look at the Sharingan and its powers can't work on you.

"What about the Fire Daimyo? Is he impressed with what you've done? Impressed with the power of the Uchiha Clan?" said Fugaku seeing Itachi look away from him.

"He is impressed with _me_ Father. Not the Uchiha Clan. Apparently his opinion of the Uchiha Clan is barely higher then the Sandaime Hokage at the moment and I think we both know why," said Itachi before looking back at his Father with cold and narrowed eyes.

"And what does that mean?" said Fugaku while losing whatever patience he may have had with his eldest.

"You know what I'm talking about Father. The night of the Kyuubi's attack, _you_ along with Mother were not around, and we both know why. Do not insult my intelligence. I am well aware of what you did that night. _Who _you met that night. You only brought Mother along with you in the off chance _he _would wish for his payment to be her body," said Itachi at his Father, who scowled at him, but kept his mouth shut, and it was a good thing too since Naruto entered the room.

"We need to talk Itachi. Its about your younger brother," said Naruto, which got him the attention of both Uchiha in the room, and tossed Itachi the mission scroll.

"What? What happened to Sasuke?" said Fugaku, as he had focused on Sasuke ever since Itachi left to train the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and hope to get two prodigal offspring to help bring further greatness to the Uchiha Clan.

Ever since Itachi left to train Naruto, the younger of the two siblings was trying harder with each passing day to get out of his older brother's shadow, and not be referred to as "Itachi's little brother" all the time. Sasuke had tried to get in contact with Itachi, but he had no way of knowing where the man had gone, and Itachi himself didn't send any kind of message to Konoha for anyone to read. Their Father didn't care at the time, as he kept on praising Itachi, and giving some slight positive comments to Sasuke every so often though many would compare it to giving the Clan Head's youngest progeny "scrapes" if compliments were food.

Probably because Sasuke had yet to activate his Sharingan to become a true member of the Uchiha Clan like all those before him had done.

"Are you certain a team wasn't sent to back them up?" said Itachi though even he knew the answer right way since the Hokage would have added another scroll to this with the names of the team sent to support team 7.

"I'm sure. And I know the reason why the Sandaime didn't send reinforcements," said Naruto seeing Itachi narrow his eyes in understanding.

"To make Sasuke activate his Sharingan Eyes," said Itachi seeing Naruto nod though they didn't understand why the Sandaime would do that.

"We need to go if we're going to save him and the others on the team," said Naruto with Itachi nodding.

"No you're not! I will not have my son ordered around by the likes of _you_!" said Fugaku with his Sharingan Eyes active and moved to force the Jinchuriki out of his home.

Had Itachi not knocked the Clan Head through the wall and sent Fugaku flying out of his own home.

"Stay down Father. You will only embarrass yourself further," said Itachi seeing his how Father was glaring at him.

"You will pay for this insult Itachi. You and that Jinchuriki are not welcome in this house so long as I'm the Uchiha Clan Head!" said Fugaku seeing Itachi looking like he didn't care and the same went for Naruto too.

"We all pay sooner or later. The question is always when?" said Naruto to himself and Itachi with the Uchiha agreeing with him.

"We might need a medic for this mission," said Itachi knowing having one on this would increase the chance of saving the lives on team 7 and their sensei.

"Shizune won't mind if we recruit her for this. Tsunade's been hounding her ever since we returned to Konoha," said Naruto knowing Shizune had been avoiding Tsunade like the Sannin was a walking epidemic.

With that in mind, the two went to recruit Shizune, and the three soon left after Naruto explained the situation to her about the abandoned Genin team.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. This is another long one because life will prevent me from starting to write another chapter again for _at least _for another week. So enjoy this for all its greatness. Until next time...PEACE!)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-Wave's Savoir

Naruto, Itachi, and Shizune made their way to Wave Country at high speed knowing time was of the essence if they were to save Genin team 7 from possible annihilation. While Naruto had doubts they were worth saving, he knew Itachi loved his little brother, and did not want him to die. The trio water walked their way into the country, though it was more like running then walking, and quickly began searching for the address of client Genin team 7 was protecting. They eventually found it with the lights on, talking was going on in the house, and was clear that there was no danger to its occupants just yet.

"Should we go in or watch from the shadows?" said Shizune curiously from her position in the trees.

"We might as well go in. We need to see if anyone is wounded," said Naruto with Itachi nodding in agreement before they did just that with the surprise of everyone in the house.

"Itachi?" said Sasuke seeing his brother walk into the kitchen with two others he didn't know.

"Hello little brother," said Itachi with a small smile while seeing the two other Genin on the team eyeing him, Naruto, and Shizune cautiously.

"What are you doing here Itachi?" said Kakashi with his crutches by the table.

"We're your backup you requested from the Sandaime. A request he chose to ignore for some stupid reason," said Naruto with Kakashi's eyes widening at the sight of the blonde.

'Naruto? Sensei's son is here?' thought Kakashi, as he saw the boy had grown, and was the spitting image of Minato with the exception of the whisker marks.

"Backup? Why? I can do this without your help," said Sasuke with Itachi frowning at him with a sense of disappointment.

"Not from what I understand regarding your enemy. From the looks of things, your sensei is still injured, and unable to properly train you for the fight that is to come," said Naruto with Shizune already going to work on healing Kakashi of his injuries.

"Who asked you?" said Sasuke glaring at Naruto.

"Stop it Sasuke. Naruto-san is right," said Itachi with Sasuke looking shocked that he would stick up for the blonde.

"Our enemies are Momochi Zabuza and an unknown Shinobi wearing a Mist Hunter Nin uniform complete with mask," said Kakashi before telling the trio what happened after fighting the Demon Brothers with Itachi already thinking things over in his head.

"Considering the injuries Zabuza himself sustained, his injuries will be healed by the end of this week at the very _least_, and I'm willing to bet he'll want a rematch by that time. What has me concerned is the fake Hunter Nin since all we know about the person is he or she has skill in throwing senbon needles and at vital points of the body," said Itachi knowing that it take skill to hit such points in the neck and knowing it would fool an enemy Shinobi.

"What kind of training have you given them?" said Shizune to Kakashi seeing the man look a bit sheepish.

"Well...to be honest I've been working on their teamwork up until this mission and had them do tree walking during my time being unable to move around," said Kakashi with the trio looking at him with a "Are you serious?" look on their faces.

"That's it? You didn't do anything else the whole time you had this team?" said Naruto, as he saw Kakashi looking more embarrassed by the second, and probably wishing Zabuza had killed him in their fight.

"The team really needed to work on teamwork and this _was _a C-ranked mission when we left," said Kakashi with Naruto frowning along with Itachi and Shizune.

"Saito-sensei once said 'hope for the best and prepare for the worst' Kakashi-san. Its clear you only did half that. What if they died? Both the team and the client?" said Naruto with Kakashi sighing knowing that was true.

"I know. I asked the team what they wanted to do and they voted to press forward," said Kakashi with Itachi shaking his head, Naruto sighing, and Shizune was resisting the urge to smack the now healed Jounin in the back of the head.

"Aside from the fact you shouldn't have even let them vote over this kind of, what were the reasons behind their decisions to press forward?" said Naruto with Kakashi turned to look at his students, who glared at him, and knew they didn't want their reasons to be known.

"Well...Sasuke wanted to prove he was no longer in Itachi's shadow. Sakura wanted to go because Sasuke wanted to go and Sai...well he just smiled so I took it his answer as a 'yes' to the question of wanting to continue on the mission," said Kakashi with Naruto having done a face palming and Itachi's eyebrow twitched.

This time Shizune did smack Kakashi in the back of the head.

"Baka!" said Shizune with Kakashi rubbing his head.

"You're team is only a few Months old Kakashi. You should have focused on more then just teamwork," said Itachi with Kakashi sighing knowing the Uchiha Prodigy was right.

"I know. Its just...I guess I wanted them to surpass all the expectations set for them like _I _first did when becoming a Genin under Minato-sensei," said Kakashi while Itachi shook his head.

"You were in the middle of a war when becoming a Genin with Minato being your sensei Kakashi. Combat from the war and training during the war helped you achieve your rank of Jounin ahead of others in these times of peace," said Itachi knowing Kakashi was the level of Jounin due to the many missions he went on with the training Minato put him through.

"Point taken," said Kakashi while looking over at Sasuke currently scowling at Naruto for being so close to Itachi.

"Why are these two here?" said Sakura while eyeing the woman like she was some harpy trying to seduce the Uchiha on her team.

"I'm a Medic Nin and Naruto felt my help might be needed in the event anyone here was severely injured," said Shizune seeing Sakura look at the blonde in shock and a bit in fear like he was some mass murderer.

"Naruto? As in the 'demon boy' Uzumaki Naruto my Mother warned me about?" Sakura while Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.

"That's _Namikaze _Uzumaki Naruto to you. The information your Mother has about me is not only outdated...it is completely _inaccurate_," said Naruto with the girl scowling at him for denouncing the woman on the Civilian Council.

"Father doesn't speak very highly of you," said Sasuke at last and Naruto just raised an eyebrow at him.

"And why is that?" said Naruto while Itachi was watching them interact with interest.

"Father wouldn't tell me. He just said that you were a bane on Konoha and on the Uchiha Clan for what you held," said Sasuke with Naruto looking slightly to Itachi and then back at the man's sibling.

"Well my absence from Konoha and recent actions at your house didn't exactly make him change his opinion of me," said Naruto though it was more to Itachi then Sasuke.

"Father is not what you call a...humble man," said Itachi with Sasuke scowling at the two of them.

"Don't put my Father down. He's the Head of the Uchiha Clan!" said Sasuke defiantly at them.

"Foolish little brother," said Itachi before he walked over to Sasuke and poked the boy in the forehead like he use to do years ago.

"Ow!" said Sasuke while scowling at Itachi.

"Tazuna, if you are not too drunk right now we need to discuss some things with you in private about your current situation, and how to handle it from a different angle," said Naruto seeing the old bridge builder nodding slightly while wondering how this could get anymore complicated.

"Like what?" said Tazuna knowing this new group had something in mind.

"Removing Zabuza's employer," said Naruto seeing Tazuna's eyes widen along with the rest of the people in the room.

"You want to kill Gato?" said Tsunami while Itachi nodded.

"With Gato killed, then Zabuza will have no reason to kill you due to the contract being void, and I have a suspicion this businessman does not pay someone unless its in his best interest. Chances are, he'll backstab Zabuza during the inevitable confrontation, and will make things more complicated if you are weakened from the fight," said Naruto simply with Inari, who was Tazuna's Grandson scoffing at the idea, and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki saw disbelief in the boy.

"You can't kill Gato. He's invincible!" said Inari with Naruto shaking his head.

"No one is invincible," said Naruto with the boy scowling at him.

"What do you know? You don't know what suffering truly is!" said Inari, which made Naruto's eyes widen, and then narrow dangerously with his eyes flashing from blue to crimson red.

"What...did you just..._say_?" said Naruto before appearing in front of the boy and picking him up by his shirt.

"Naruto!" said Itachi with Shizune looking at Namikaze and saw the eyes flashing two colors with rage flowing right out of them.

"_Shut up_ Itachi! I don't know what _suffering_ is? Let me tell you a story about suffering _child_! I have lived a life of pain and suffering before you were even _born_! For _seven_ _years_ of my life I had _no one_ to comfort me when I was sad. To help me after a mob of people _beat me _within an _inch_ of my life. Hating me for something that wasn't my fault and the powers that be were secretly _allowing it_ so I would be the village's submissive secret _weapon!_ On your birthdays, you got presents, laughter, and a family to wish you 'Happy Birthday!' repeatedly. Do you know what I got on birthday? Someone tied me up, in the center of one of Konoha's training fields, bathed me in oil, and set me on _fire_! ON FIRE! Do you know what a charred body smells like boy? I do! _Mine_! I was _six years old_! The only reason I'm not a charred corpse right now is because _that man_ standing behind me is one of a _handful _of Shinobi, who actually did their job, and stopped things from happening long enough for my healing factor given to me ironically from the source of the village's hatred could slowly kick in. But make no mistake, I know what suffering is, and I will not allow some whiny _brat_ say they're the only one in this house if not this very country say no one else knows what it means to suffer," said Naruto before slowly putting the boy down and left the house with no one speaking.

"Did that really happen?" said Tsunami while images of Kaiza being tied up without his arms before his execution came to the forefront of her mind.

"Yes. Naruto is much stronger then you will ever know. What he holds back is a force of nature unlike anything you could possibly imagine and the people of Konoha have done nearly everything in their power to unknowingly unleash it in the belief they can control such a thing through him. Such is the dreams of arrogant fools. I have nothing else to say on the matter," said Itachi before he looked at Shizune, who nodded before going after Naruto, and help him calm down.

(With Naruto)

Naruto sliced through several trees with his sword. There was enough lumber here to build a small cottage with enough for an outhouse. He had been at this now for several minutes while trying to sort out his emotions over what that weak child spewed from his mouth like he was all knowing. Tazuna's Grandson wouldn't have survived a _week_ living the life of a Jinchuriki!

'His whole country is suffering and all he thinks about is himself!' thought Naruto while he sliced through another tree with ease.

"Naruto," said Shizune, as she jus had to follow his chakra signature, and the sound of him destroying the trees around him.

"Itachi sent you to scold and keep me calm, didn't he?" said Naruto before sheathing his blade and turned to face her.

"The second part. Not the first part. Though you shouldn't have told him to shut up," said Shizune with Naruto nodding.

"I'll apologize to Itachi when I get back. Its just...that boy doesn't know what he's talking about and I just got so angry at him when he talked like his life is so much worse then ours," said Naruto with Shizune nodding.

"I know. I understand Naruto. So does Itachi. We both want to help you and to be happy in life," said Shizune seeing Naruto smile and surprisingly give her a hug.

"Ever since you came to the Fire Temple, you have always cared, and guided me more then I could have hoped. I didn't have the heart to say this until now, but in a way...you have been like a Mother to me, and...and I want to know if you would consider me your son?" said Naruto with Shizune slightly shocked by this confession, but even she realized that it was true, and couldn't deny some measure of paternal instinct in helping him.

The moment Naruto knew Shizune could be trusted, he latched onto her like she was a lifeline, and seeking approval in everything he did. The Shinobi Monks and Itachi were like surrogate brothers to him with the exception of Bansai being a surrogate Grandfather to the boy. Shizune had been the only woman in his life, who taught him more then just how fight, and gave him guidance like a Mother would do for their son. So in a way, she did see Naruto like a son, and deep down Shizune would protect him like he was her own by blood.

"Of course Naruto-kun. My son," said Shizune with Naruto holding her even tighter and felt him crying.

"Thank you...Okasan," said Naruto with Shizune finding herself crying too.

"We should head back to the house," said Shizune with Naruto shaking his head no.

"You go back. I...I need to be out here a little longer. Maybe I will even sleep outside and enjoy looking up at the stars," said Naruto with Shizune nodding since he had done that at the Shinobi Temple to admire the stars above at night.

"Okay. Just be careful. I'm your Mother now so I can pull rank on a paternal level," said Shizune with a stern look though Naruto knew it was for show.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Naruto before Shizune kissed his forehead.

"I mean it when I say be careful Naruto-kun," said Shizune with the woman heading back to Tazuna's home.

(The Next Morning)

Morning came for Naruto faster then he would have liked and was awakened by a hand on his shoulder from a young girl a few years older then himself. Long black hair, a nice civilian dress, and a smile that made your heart flutter. But Naruto wasn't fooled. He had developed a six sense when it came to people that were not always who they said they were and this girl fit the bill. Her smell was that of flowers, but also consisted of wound treating medicine, and blood from the injured individual in need of treatment. Naruto had also sensed the girl reach for the area around his throat for a second before moving to the shoulder.

"You're awake. Good!" said the girl while watching the boy sitting against the tree.

"Sorry. I was watching the stars last night and didn't have enough strength to walk back to the house," said Naruto, which was true to an extent, and felt it was the best thing to do in case his hunch about the girl was correct.

"I understand. Though you should be more careful since there is a risk you'll catch a cold being out here all night," said the girl with Naruto shrugging since getting sick was not a problem for him.

"I'll take my chances. Thank you all the same...," said Naruto waiting for the girl to speak her name.

"Haku. My name is Haku...," said Haku waiting now for him to return the favor of saying his name.

"Naruto. My name is Naruto. Pleased to meet you Haku-chan," said Naruto with Haku smiling at him.

"Well that we have gotten acquainted Naruto-kun, may I ask what you are doing here?" said Haku curiously while seeing his Shinobi headband though it wasn't from any village she knew existed.

"I'm with my Mother and we're visiting some friends here in Wave. You?" said Naruto, as he knew the best way to lie was speak the truth to a certain extent so its not even a lie.

Just removing certain truths from the whole truth.

"Then you'll probably get quite a scolding from her for being out this late," said Haku before she let out a giggle with Naruto letting out a chuckle.

"Maybe. She knows and I've done it before. My Okasan trusts me," said Naruto seeing Haku smiling knowing a certain someone trusted her too on certain matters.

"That's good to hear. You must be a trustworthy person. Maybe you would like to help me find the herbs I need to heal a friend of mine?" said Haku while Naruto nodded since it would be rude to not help a girl in need of assistance.

And a pretty one at that.

"Couldn't hurt," said Naruto simply before getting up, dusting himself off, and went about helping Haku recover what she needed.

"I saw the trees you destroyed earlier. Are you a Shinobi?" said Haku while picking some herbs and saw Naruto doing the same.

"Sort of. Its...complicated. I am a Shinobi, but I'm also two other things blended together, and I don't answer to a Kage," said Naruto seeing Haku was shocked to hear that.

"You don't answer to a Kage? Who do you answer to then?" said Haku curiously.

"The Fire Daimyo," said Naruto with Haku looking shocked at this news.

"I see. But Fire Country has a Shinobi village named Konoha. Why do you answer only to the Fire Daimyo and not the Hokage?" said Haku seeing Naruto smile at her.

"Good question Haku-chan. But the real question you should be asking yourself is...why is a Shinobi of Fire Country helping you gather herbs to heal Momochi Zabuza?" said Naruto making Haku stiffen and her eyes widened while they looked into his intense blue ones.

"You knew?" said Haku seeing Naruto smirk at her.

"Wouldn't be much of a Shinobi if I wasn't...Haku-chan," said Naruto before bringing his hand up and caught the fist with senbon needles aimed at his neck.

"You won't get Zabuza-sama's location from me. I'll die before I betray him," said Haku with passion in her voice that told Naruto she would endure all kinds of pain to protect the Missing Nin.

"I'm not going to ask you for his location Haku-chan. I'm asking you and Zabuza to leave Wave Country," said Naruto seeing Haku narrow her eyes at him.

"We cannot. Gato is paying Zabuza to kill the bridge builder and he needs the money to further his dreams," said Haku before she leapt on him and the two began rolling around struggling for the dominant position of being on top.

With Naruto barely coming out the victor.

"Listen! There is another way where we don't have to fight and die needlessly! Gato is not the kind of guy, who would pay Shinobi unless he had no choice, and from what I've gather with just two Shinobi assigned to this mission...he's not going to pay," said Naruto while keeping Haku pinned though she was still struggling.

"You lie! It goes against the unspoken rule that clients pay Shinobi for their services," said Haku knowing that it was an unspoken rule just like it was an unspoken rule that Shinobi don't backstab the client that hired them.

"Gato is a businessman without honor. Just because its an unspoken rule to pay Shinobi hired for their services doesn't mean he'll follow it. He could easily kill you and Zabuza after the fighting with his other hired help while making something up with their being no proof to dispute it. You've seen him and I've seen pictures of him from Tazuna. The man is a pig. He cares only about money and is a real tightfisted corporate ass. Do you really believe the man will pay Zabuza when its cheaper to kill him in a weakened state once the mission is over?" said Naruto seeing Haku stop struggling and look away from him before looking back.

"What do you propose?" said Haku knowing she should at least hear him out.

"Remove Gato from Wave Country...permanently! The spoils gained from his hideout I'm sure will more then compensate Zabuza in the end," said Naruto seeing Haku was still unsure about this.

"How do I know you or the Konoha Shinobi watching over the bridge builder won't got back on your word like Gato?" said Haku since this could always be a trick.

"Because I am the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo. If I were to go back on this deal, then it would reflect badly on him, and I owe the man too much for everything he's done for me. When I give you my word Haku, its as if the Fire Daimyo himself has given it to you, and personally...I'm not one to break my word. It goes against my honor," said Naruto seeing Haku look at him carefully for any deceit before he let got and stood up with her looking at him.

"I will talk this over with Zabuza-sama. Though I do not know if he'll agree," said Haku with Naruto nodding in understanding.

"You know where Tazuna's home is, right? Place something at the front of the house to signify he agrees with the plan for us to kill Gato. Make no mistake Haku, if Zabuza goes through with his plan to kill the bridge builder, then he will be outnumbered, and he will die," said Naruto seeing Haku calculating things in her head.

"Reinforcements," said Haku concluded seeing Naruto nod.

"And on Zabuza's level. Kakashi has been healed and now back to full strength thanks to our Medic Nin. If you truly value Zabuza's life, then convince him to let us kill Gato, and save Wave Country from further suffering," said Naruto seeing Haku nod since she too had seen the people in Wave in agony.

"Zabuza is a proud man and there is a chance I will fail to convince him. Still...I will try," said Haku before she took her basket of herbs and began walking away until she was out of sight.

'You think she'll succeed Kurama?' thought Naruto while leaving himself alone once more.

_**"I don't know. Maybe. She cares for Zabuza. Of that, I have no doubt, and you did tell her the spoils Gato had would be theirs to take,"**_ said Kurama with Naruto nodding and decided to head back.

'I know. The question now is...will Zabuza take the alternative?' thought Naruto, as he left to head back to the house, and inform the team of his findings.

(With Zabuza)

"You're serious?" said Zabuza seeing the girl sitting next to him mixing the herbs and stirring them into a healing paste.

"Yes Zabuza-sama. He proclaims himself to be the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo. A Shinobi, who answers only to him, and him alone. Not even the Hokage can command him and believes Gato will betray us," said Haku seeing Zabuza think this over in his head for a bit.

"I had heard rumors until now. Of someone in the Fire Daimyo's home gaining special favor, but _this_...this is something unexpected," said Zabuza not knowing how to handle this new development.

"I believe him Zabuza-sama. I think we should take the offer," said Haku with Zabuza frowning at her.

"We can't go on the assumption of some brat regardless of his position Haku. Like it or not...we have to stick with the mission until things change," said Zabuza with the girl looking sad.

"And what if its too late should Gato reveal his intentions to be that of a betrayer? Your dream will never come true if you die from this decision," said Haku seeing Zabuza stay silent for a moment.

"Did he say who was with him?" said Zabuza at last.

"No. But he said they were at your skill level. Hatake Kakashi is already healed and will be ready to fight when the time comes. We cannot win should we do battle them Zabuza-sama," said Haku knowing the two of them fighting who knows how many Leaf Shinobi on the other end would be suicidal.

"If what he said is true," said Zabuza simply.

"There was no lying in him. I saw into his eyes. He's known hardship like I have before you found me," said Haku with Zabuza now looking at her with interest.

"Hence why you trust him. Two souls with similar pain. There is a sense of trust and understanding when two people like that meet," said Zabuza seeing Haku nod.

"Please Zabuza-sama, I beg you to listen to reason, and let them go through with their plan to remove Gato," said Haku seeing Zabuza look at her and knew he was debating on whether to listen.

"You better be right about this brat your smitten with Haku," said Zabuza though the last part was a form of teasing and was slightly surprised her cheeks colored a little.

"I am not smitten Zabuza-sama," said Haku while she saw Zabuza smirk underneath the bandages.

"I'll keep that in mind if and when you see him again," said Zabuza while he let Haku heal his injuries and ignored Haku's cheeks reddening further.

(Tazuna's House)

"So you met the fake Hunter Nin without her mask. You have interesting luck Naruto," said Itachi with Naruto shrugging.

"Maybe. The jury is still out on that. In any case, I know she cares deeply for Zabuza, and will do everything in her power to see he isn't hurt," said Naruto with Itachi nodding and knew they had one more day before the inevitable confrontation.

"Do you know where Gato's hideout is?" said Kakashi knowing if they were going to do this, it would require knowing where, and when to strike Gato.

"I do. Everyone in town knows where it is. He has countless mercenary thugs watching the place. Real scum of the world and cheap to pay too. The place itself is designed like an old fortress," said Tazuna before telling them where it was located.

"We'll do a little recon first before making our move," said Naruto with Itachi nodding though personally he despised violence unless necessary to keep the peace in the long run.

"What about us?" said Sasuke, who was hoping to get involved in this, and prove he was ready to get out of Itachi's shadow.

"_We _are going to stick to training and watching Tazuna until this is over Sasuke. Killing Gato is not part of the mission," said Kakashi with Sasuke scowling at him.

"Well it should be if they are here," said Sasuke while glaring at Naruto, who just ignored the Uchiha, and focusing his mind elsewhere.

"No! The mission is to protect Tazuna. Until Gato is killed, Zabuza is still his hired help, and a threat to the client," said Kakashi with Sasuke growling at the idea of being left behind.

'I won't be left behind in Itachi's shadow. I won't be referred to as 'Itachi's little brother' forever!' thought Sasuke while trying to figure out how to do that.

The day went by with the usual routine of Genin team 7 training, rotating their shifts in protecting Tazuna, and waiting for the possible attack by Gato's thugs. Shizune for her part decided it was smart to stay with Tazuna's family to protect them in case Gato tried to go after them too. Itachi and Naruto spent the entire day scouting Gato's stronghold with the blonde making an army of Shadow Clones henged into animals to get the layout of the area around the place before sneaking in when the guards rotated shifts. Naruto then used their memories to draw a somewhat accurate map of the place from the inside and finally learned where Gato slept at night.

The smell in the room according to the memory of the Shadow Clone made it smell of the fat swine, hookers, and sake. It made Naruto wanted to puke since it was nauseous to him and had to fight back the urge before telling Itachi when they would make their move due to Gato telling his two most trusted thugs his plans for getting rid of all his problems in one shot tomorrow.

Itachi agreed they had to attack tonight. It had to be tonight.

"We can't leave a single mercenary alive Naruto. Without their employer paying them for their help, they'll raid the village for whatever will be suitable payment, and destroy just about everything in Wave Country. It will be like a plague was unleashed and we helped unleash it," said Itachi with Naruto nodding and agreeing with the Uchiha.

"I know. Let's head back to Tazuna's and see if Haku left a sign for us about Zabuza's decision," said Naruto with the two heading back to Tazuna's to report their findings to the others.

And found a message on the door with a senbon needle pinning it to the door.

_The Demon of the Mist accepts the offer._

_-The Demon's Harbinger_

"It seems this girl has given herself a title to match yours," said Itachi with amusement in his voice.

"So it seems," said Naruto while ignoring what he was implying about Haku and himself.

(Gato's Fortress-Sometime Later)

"Ready Naruto?" said Itachi while seeing Naruto nod.

"Are you Itachi-sensei? I know how you feel about fighting and killing," said Naruto with Itachi smiling at how the boy was worried about going against his beliefs.

"I'm fine Naruto. I will only fight if I have to fight. This is one of those times," said Itachi while seeing Naruto nod and then unseal the bo-staff given to him on his tenth birthday by Chiriku.

It was a real beauty of a weapon. Forged from one of the branches of a sacred tree Senju Hashirama himself had brought to life not far from the Fire Temple where many Shinobi Monks found enlightenment long after the Shodaime Hokage died. The weapon even had seals on it to prevent swords from cutting or breaking upon contact with weapons made of metal. It also enhanced Naruto's own Wind Affinity so the blonde could easily unleash intense winds with the power to blow enemies away or making wind attacks dense and sharp to cut through their flesh.

"Let's do this then," said Naruto before the two setout to handle this mission.

(Konoha-At the Moment)

"That damn _thing_ had no right to interfere on the mission Hiruzen!" said Uchiha Fugaku while looking livid at the Hokage currently struggling to get through the day with all the stress he was under.

"And I warned you what would happen if I denied the team backup with Naruto around to inspect things here in the village. He was going through the missions I assigned to the teams and considering _who _was his sensei for the past five years compelled him to take this to your eldest," said the Sandaime seeing the Uchiha Clan Head snarl.

"I did it for the good of the clan. You agreed to it!" said Fugaku with the Sandaime now scowling at him.

"Because the boy needed to see things beyond the walls of the village and you wanted to have Sasuke unlock his Sharingan. We _knew_ from Jiraiya's spy network that Wave was in trouble and that there was a high probability of mission being higher then C-rank. You thought the danger would force your youngest to awaken his Sharingan Eyes so two of your progeny could be considered true members of the Uchiha Clan," said the Sandaime with Fugaku seething at how the elderly Kage was turning this back on him.

"And what if I did? An Uchiha is made in a trial by fire fashion! Always has been and always will be for us. Besides, its a lot better then _your way _of training potential Shinobi to being assets to the village. I don't need to remind you of your failure with the bastard child of the Yondaime brought into this world by that Uzumaki _slut_!" said Fugaku with the Sandaime scowling at him.

"Be mindful of your words Fugaku. I would hate to have to punish my two students for killing you for such degrading remarks about those they cared about," said the Sandaime with Fugaku scoffing at him.

"You're one to talk considering your actions against Yondaime's so called progeny," said Fugaku with the Sandaime's scowl increasing.

"Something you and most the Uchiha Clan are just as guilty of doing Fugaku. I don't need to remind you only _one _Uchiha among your clan has Naruto's favor while the rest have only his scorn," said Hiruzen with the Uchiha Clan Head sneering.

"And I don't need to remind _you_ how your _son_ was ordered back here to run a Genin team instead of being at the Fire Daimyo's palace to guard him," said Fugaku knowing that was a wound aimed at the Sarutobi Clan's pride.

The Fire Daimyo had ordered Sarutobi Asuma back to Konoha when Hiruzen's offspring continued to inquire about Naruto's whereabouts despite the Feudal Lord of Fire Country ordering the matter dropped. Chiriku had felt his fellow Guardian 12 comrade in arms was finding his loyalty to his Hokage for a Father outweighing his loyalty, which was meant for the Fire Daimyo, and decided to inform the ruler of Fire Country of this. Hence why Asuma was ordered back to Konoha under the pretense that the man should be in the Leaf training a Genin team like his Father before him. The Sandaime wasn't thrilled since his son was able to catch glimpses of Naruto during the past five years, trying to gauge the boy's training progress, but sight alone, and for only a few minutes at best wasn't a real assessment of someone.

"I am well aware of the fact Fugaku, but let me remind you that Naruto is the one that holds _both of us_, and our familiesin contempt. Itachi has little love for you so don't expect any kind of influence from your eldest in Naruto's actions against Konoha will spare the Uchiha Clan. It won't!" said the Sandaime with the Uchiha Clan Head staring at him for a moment before leaving.

With the man now gone, the Sandaime went back to his work, and hoping things wouldn't keep get worse.

(Gato's Fortress)

Gato knew something was the wrong the moment one of his hired thugs told him several men went missing and the security cameras to the place were suddenly going offline. The system was state of the art. One of the few things he spent a great deal of money on was security or more specifically _his security_ to ensure _his survival_. It was why the ruthless businessman had so many thugs on hand to defend him from any and all harm. While they were normally a hefty price to pay for having so many, Gato knew given things were with Konoha Shinobi here in Wave Country that such an army was necessary, and with any luck his army would be thinned out so he wouldn't have to pay as much. As for the hiring of Zabuza himself, was a small dent to his wallet, but Gato would have preferred to have _no _dent at all, and planned to remove the Demon of the Mist from this world once the man had completed the assignment he signed on for. That way, the money he would pay the Missing Nin for his service would go to better uses like cheaper security, and a few hookers to make him feel better.

"Any news?" said Gato with a frown at his hired help.

"Not yet Boss. I've sent a few guys to investigate, but I'm pretty sure its nothing to worry about, and just some rat chewing a cable. You know this place has a few," said the thug with Gato scowling at him.

"Then find the rat, kill it, repair the damage done, and then kill the incompetent guards not doing their job!" said Gato furiously.

"Right Boss!" said the thug before leaving the businessman's office.

"Incompetent morons. The one drawback when hiring cheap. You get what you pay for!" said Gato with a sneer while wondering what he did to deserve such stupidity.

His thought process ended however, as explosions were heard, and screams following throughout the complex were heard. Feeling a sense of worry run up his spine, Gato went to the security cameras to find each of them were going out with each one closer to his office then the last, and told the crooked businessman hostile individuals were headed his way. His worry now turned to panic, Gato rushed to the door in hopes of escaping before his attackers got to him in this cramped office, and cursed the ice bitch for breaking his door opening arm. However, no sooner had he done that did the short man see one of his attackers take a bo-staff swing to one of the hired thugs, and cause blunt force trauma to the skull with enough strength to kill the hired goon. Shutting the door quickly, Gato hid behind, and under his desk while hoping the enemy would skip this room to look for him elsewhere.

Sadly, it was not the case, as the door was kicked open, _off its hinges_ to be more accurate, and the sound of footsteps could be heard from Gato's position while the frightened man tried to keep the noise of his whimpers from reaching their ears. Not that it mattered, as the two _Shinobi_, who had dispatched most of businessman's army of thugs silently before the more noisy, and violent approached the desk before the taller one picked up the now cowering Gato. The cutthroat business tycoon had already soiled himself when staring at the dark haired, weird red eyed figure, and knew without a doubt his life was coming to an end. But it wasn't fair! He had so much to live for! A business to run. Lives to destroy with a snap of his fingers. People to ruin with his illegal activities in this country!

"So this is Gato in the flesh? He's shorter and uglier then I expected," said Naruto with his tone of voice clearly stating he was unimpressed with the sight of the little man.

"Such a waste of a life. To think his money is what caused all the suffering in this country and Kami knows where else he's been before now," said Itachi seeing the man look from him to Naruto.

"Should I do the honors in slitting his throat or do you?" said Naruto casually with Itachi making a "I'm not sure I'm thinking" noise in his throat.

"W-Wait! Don't kill me! I'm a wealthy man! That safe over there has enough money to buy a small country! I can make you two richer then you could ever dream of being in a hundred lifetimes. Just name your price and I'll pay!" said Gato desperately knowing the money in his possession could possibly by him his life and freedom if these two were willing to deal.

The two Shinobi looked at each other, a silent communication going on between them, and Gato hoped they were considering the offer. His hopes were dashed when they both looked back at him with a scowl and knew what their response to his offer was to sparing his life.

"No deal!" said Naruto and Itachi at the same time with the blonde taking out a kunai and slit the man's throat open with the Uchiha dropping the businessman on the ground to die slowly on his own blood.

"Its done. We need to inform the others and Zabuza," said Itachi with Naruto smiling and make two Shadow Clones of himself.

"Way ahead of you," said Naruto before commanding his clones to head out while Itachi sighed and shook his head.

"I've spoiled you with that Jutsu," said Itachi simply with Naruto smirking at him.

"Perhaps, but you cannot deny the results," said Naruto with Itachi nodding and the two left to collect what they needed in terms of Gato's bank accounts knowing the safe filled with money would more then cover Zabuza not getting involved on the businessman's behalf.

Besides, the large amount of money they were taking from Gato was going to be used in a far more productive manner, and given to a much more deserving place in need of it.

"So you're done?" said Zabuza, as he appeared in front of the two with a heavy mist in case he needed to make a disappearance, and avoid a possible trap.

"Yeah. We've taken the majority of the man's bank accounts, but what's left is more then enough for you, and Haku to take so don't think we're leaving you with very little in the ways of getting paid," said Naruto with Zabuza feeling a little irked they were taking most of the cash despite how they earned it.

"How do I know the place isn't rigged to blow once I set foot in there?" said Zabuza, as that could always be the case, and didn't exactly trust them.

"You can't, but its not since that would be breaking the agreement I made with Haku, and my honor is something I consider to be unbreakable," said Naruto with Itachi nodding too since there was no honor in breaking an agreement.

"You've been straight with me so far. You could have easily disabled Haku the other day when confronting her about me and then tortured her for information. Since you didn't, I am going to go on a limb here, and trust you two in keeping your word," said Zabuza, as he saw the two nod, and walk away from him.

"Gato's yacht is North of here. Take use it to get out of the country once you are done taking stuff," said Naruto knowing the boat was expensive and would help Zabuza evade the Mist Hunter Nin on his case after he left.

(Tazuna's House)

"You're back!" said Tsunami seeing the two Shinobi return stained in the blood of their enemies, and put some pages out from a Storage Scroll containing a list of Gato's many bank accounts.

"Here is everything you'll need to get Wave Country back on its feet Tazuna. Use it to make this place great again," said Naruto seeing Tazuna look at the many bank accounts that would make things possible for his homeland be great again.

"And Zabuza and Haku?" said Kakashi seeing Naruto smirk.

"We left them more then enough in Gato's safe," said Naruto seeing Kakashi nod and was glad that they wouldn't have to worry about Zabuza going after the old man.

"Just to be sure, I'm going to have my team keep an eye on things, and train harder so this isn't a problem in the future," said Kakashi knowing he couldn't afford to let something like this happen again.

"Smart move. Since our mission is done, we will be leaving, and reporting back to the Hokage of our success on this part of the mission. Oh and Tazuna the payment for the C-rank you gave the Hokage is enough. You don't need to worry about paying for the full A-rank price," said Naruto seeing the other Konoha Shinobi and Tazuna himself looking shocked by this news.

"Are you sure?" said Tazuna curiously while Genin team 7 looked angry.

"Naruto, the Hokage is not going to like this news," said Kakashi knowing the old man was going to dislike this when told.

"I don't expect the Hokage to like it Kakashi. I expect him take it and with a forced smile on his old wrinkled face. Or have you forgotten that the backup you received here was _unofficial_? That the Hokage was going to delay your requested support or not send any at all? This is his punishment. I'm also filing another report about this with the Fire Daimyo so the Hokage cannot lie about this to him," said Naruto seeing the Jounin in front of him nod in understanding.

"Do what you have to do Naruto," said Kakashi with a sigh knowing things wouldn't be good for Konoha upon his return.

(Hokage Tower-Sometime Later)

"You tread on dangerous ground Naruto. Using _my _Shinobi for your mission I did _not _approve any of you going on," said the Sandaime with his voice being deadly serious.

"_Your_ Shinobi? That's a bold statement considering who _you _answer to in the long run of things. Ultimately, _every_ Shinobi in Konoha is the _Fire Daimyo's _Shinobi, and answers to him should he wish to question their actions. _Not_ _you_! As it stands in the eyes of the Fire Daimyo, _I_ outrank you, and _I _can command any Shinobi _I_ want for a mission _I_ deem to be important. Or perhaps you would like to explain to the Fire Daimyo why you didn't send any backup to Genin team 7, fully well knowing the mission was beyond C-rank, and the freshly made squad with no outside experience would most likely _die _without it?" said Naruto seeing the Sandaime narrow his eyes at him and knew the old Kage was now seething inside.

"Whether or not I assign backup for a team is done at _my _discretion. I felt Kakashi and his team could handle the mission assigned to them regardless of the rank increase," said the Sandaime with Naruto scoffing at him.

"Kakashi took on a dangerous A-rank Missing Nin, who was at his level, and the enemy had backup as an insurance policy. One that could have easily finished off a severely weakened Kakashi and Genin team 7 in a heartbeat had Zabuza's subordinate made the attempt. In fact, it was because of _my team_ coming to their aid that they are even alive, and don't get me started on Zabuza's client. The man was going to backstab the Missing Nin and finish off the survivors with his army of hired thugs once the battle died down. So tell me _Sandaime Hokage_...how do you feel about the mission now?" said Naruto with the Sandaime seconds away from losing his cool.

"Naruto...," said the Sandaime while mere seconds away from calling on the ANBU to just kill the boy and deal with the fallout later.

"Spare me your explanations. I don't want to hear the excuses of a frail old man. Prepare for the Chuunin Exams that will be happening in a few Months time. Maybe by then, you will have shown your not incompetent in being Hokage, and actually be more than just a pathetic paper pushing bureaucrat," said Naruto before leaving with Itachi and Shizune at his flank.

'Damn you boy! DAMN YOU!' thought the Sandaime while looking at where the village weapon had been standing moments ago.

He would tame the boy again. All the Hokage needed was leverage.

(Konoha Streets)

Naruto felt someone following him right after leaving the Hokage Tower with Itachi and Shizune going their separate ways to handle their own things. Whoever it was, they were doing their best to stay hidden for now, and it became clear to Naruto that there was more then one when two more signatures were detected. Each of these three individuals were radiating a small amount of killer intent, as they clearly wanted a piece of him, and most likely for the obvious reasons.

"Come out from the shadows. There is no point in hiding yourself from me," said Naruto, as he had walked to a training ground, and was met by three Jounin ranked Shinobi.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back to Konoha _demon_!" said one of the Leaf Jounin of the trio, who Naruto recognized from his earlier years, and suspected the Hokage didn't punish the Shinobi that engaged in the beatings he endured.

"After all this time, you still call me that knowing I am not the fox, and just his appointed prison. I wonder what my Father would say he saw you acting like this?" said Naruto, as he saw the Jounin in front of him looking furious.

"Shut up! You're not his son. The Yondaime Hokage was a great man. He died nobly for this village and your continued existence dishonors him!" said the second Leaf Jounin of the trio while Naruto remained calm despite the man's words.

"You're half right. My Father was a great and he did die nobly for this village. However, its not my existence that dishonors him, but rather _yours_, and those that follow you who bring dishonor to his sacrifice," said Naruto seeing them draw weapons and knew this was getting him nowhere.

"Enough talk! Let's kill him now and claim self-defense. The Fire Daimyo won't be able to dispute since the Yamanaka Clan is loyal to the Hokage," said the third Leaf Jounin while Naruto drew his sword.

"You're making a mistake," said Naruto while all three Jounin sneered at him.

"I doubt that. Once we're done ripping your intestinal track out, I'll pay a visit to that little Inuzuka bitch you protected from my friend awhile back, and have a little fun before my friends join in too," said the second Leaf Jounin having heard what happened between Naruto, Hana, and the group of Leaf Shinobi that were trying to enjoy themselves at the Inuzuka's expense.

"Come...so I can kill you," said Naruto with the three Jounin charging him and the sound of metal clanging against metal mixed with the cutting of flesh being heard.

From his position in the Hokage Tower watching this, the Sandaime scowled at seeing the boy come out victorious, and get away with a few cuts currently healing. He had done that deliberately to not only test the boy's skills to get a measure of them, but to use in terms of leverage against Naruto when the Fire Daimyo came to visit during the Chuunin Exams, and discredit the blonde. However, Naruto had proven his skills were not only higher then expected, but he had waited until the three Jounin struck first, and acted out in self-defense. Even if the Hokage had the boy arrested, the Fire Daimyo find out about it, and take action against Konoha for defying him. Even the Sandaime's two remaining students were powerless to do anything because of the Fire Daimyo, and life for them had not been fun.

Jiraiya had been forced to live in a small home the Hokage had been able to provide and had to run his spy network from there while being unable to peep on women since his medical bills would pile up faster then Tsunade's debts. His inspiration from the needed research was drying up and his ability to produce another book was noticed by all his loyal readers wishing for the next issue. The Sandaime knew Jiraiya has asked Tsunade for help in providing him with inspiration for his book, but his teammate refused, and punched him through a wall to further enforce the meaning behind the word.

Speaking of Tsunade, she was constantly busy at the hospital, healing patients, retraining doctors, and getting her medical program to help Medic Nins become part of a squad a reality. As for the debt collectors seeking her out to collect the money she owed, they came by during the past five years, and each one demanding Tsunade pay what she owed. The Sandaime didn't know _how _those debts got paid due to the woman's financial means of paying them off had been reduced to just about _zero_, and personally he didn't even want to know how she paid them off. Chances are it was through some money from the Senju Clan's accounts, but the Fire Daimyo may have frozen those, or declared the wealth in them forfeit due to the woman's actions against Naruto. The Sandaime wasn't sure and felt it best not to pry into the matter should Tsunade wish to lash out.

All Hiruzen did know was that the boy was the source of their suffering and the suffering of everyone else in the village hurt by the fox currently sealed inside of Naruto.

'This is getting out of hand. I expected three fully trained, skilled, and _sober_ Leaf Jounin to hurt the brat to the point where he would come to me for help in calling them off. I'd then use it to my advantage and convince him I could do that in exchange for leeway with the Fire Daimyo. Itachi trained him well. _Too well_! No matter. Once the Chuunin Exams start, I'll speak the Fire Daimyo myself on _my terms_, in _my office_, and in a setting where _I_ reign supreme,' thought the Hokage since last time he had been in the room with the Fire Daimyo, it had been in a room that made him a weak, old man unable to fight back, but _now_ with his ability to use chakra, and the large library of Jutsus he had learned over the years...the advantage would be _his _again!

All the Sandaime could do now...was wait.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. Hope you enjoy it. Don't worry about Naruto's interaction with the other character we know and love. They'll meet him eventually and things will get interesting. Trust me. Until next time...PEACE!)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-Torturious Exams

The Chuunin Exams was drawing closer to Konoha. The feeling of various sensations filled the air among its people. Some of the Genin were excited competing in the exams since they had the home field advantage. Other Genin were arrogant in the belief Konoha would mop the floor with any Genin ranked Shinobi coming here from foreign villages to qualify for the advancing rank. However, the Shinobi of Chuunin, Jounin, or higher in the Leaf were fearful of the inevitable day the Chuunin Exams came to Konoha's doors.

Not surprising since it could possibly be the _last_ Chuunin Exams the Leaf had depending on Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto's' recommendation regarding the village. In retrospection, the Shinobi side of Konoha _should_ have put more faith in the late Yondaime's abilities, and honored the man's dying wish for his son (whether they _knew _Naruto was his son or not) to be seen as a hero for holding the Kyuubi. It had been a test of their character, of their convictions, and the very principles the village had been founded on when the First Hokage helped build the village ages ago with his brother.

And they had failed. Failed so horribly. They had betrayed everything the Shodaime, the Nidaime, and the Yondaime died for when they were leading the village. As for the Third Hokage himself...those that had revelations during the coming day of the Chuunin Exams were unsure how to describe their feelings towards the old Kage. He had betrayed their trust, twisted their perceptions with half-truths, and basically tricked them to turn on the Yondaime's legacy like he was Orochimaru in disguise. The oldest Kage in Konoha's history had _betrayed_ his successor and son for the glory of Konoha while betraying the principles of the man who taught him.

The Third's two remaining students, who were supposedly loyal to Konoha, had sided with him on what to do with Naruto after the sealing, and it was hard to decide who was worst traitor of all! The Sandaime, Jiraiya, and Tsunade? Or Orochimaru? Seriously! They felt it was a close race between them and hard to decipher a true winner to that dishonorable contest!

As for Naruto himself, it didn't matter in his mind, and just focused on the task at hand in evaluating Konoha for the Fire Daimyo. The more he stayed in the village, the more each new form of corruption had been revealed to his eyes, and it sickened him to no end. The Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo had used a henge to look like random people and get an inside look into the people of Konoha. He asked them questions about what they thought of him in a casual way, which naturally got store owners, lenders, and various restaurant managers to express their untold hatred for the blonde. They blamed him for losing favor with the Fire Daimyo, the Kyuubi's attack all those years ago even now, and just about everything else they could throw at him.

The kitchen sink included.

When asking them if they were concerned about the Fire Daimyo liquidating the village, the people seemed to believe the Sandaime would persuade the Feudal Lord to change his mind about Konoha, and Naruto himself when the time came to discuss both futures. The people Naruto talked to seemed to have a firm belief that their Hokage was smart enough to convince the Fire Daimyo that he was "mistaken" in his decision to show mercy to the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and punish the two Sannin in the process.

Though _why_ they believed that remained a mystery to Naruto.

The Namikaze would keep an eye on things regarding this arrogant state of mind that was Konoha's blind faith in the old Kage, if only to find the source of it all, and then crush it himself. The people, mostly civilians with some Shinobi as well, had become fat, lazy, and too prideful in the belief that they were unbeatable simply because they were _Konoha _Shinobi.

Such arrogance was offensive to everyone.

Speaking of arrogance, it seemed one of the members from the Hyuuga Clan thought he were superior to Naruto, and challenged him to a fight. A Hyuuga Neji if the Namikaze recalled correctly, had approached him, and asked if he was in fact Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto? All the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo did was nod before, in a span of just a few seconds, Neji was upon him with an intense look in his eyes, and clearly intended to hurt Naruto to prove some kind of point. However, Naruto had trained too long, too hard, and had too much to do now in preparations for the Chuunin Exams to be remotely bothered by this Hyuuga standing in his path.

(Flashback)

"Fight me coward! The Yondaime Hokage would fight me. Clearly you are _not _the man you're Father was when it came to battle," exclaimed the Hyuuga while Naruto dodged his Gentle Fist strikes and leaped up into a tree away from him.

"Arrogant _fool_ of a Hyuuga! Coming from a clan with apparent 'all seeing eyes', you can't see the truth right in front of your face! If you were a Shinobi from Iwa, the Yondaime Hokage would have easily beaten you bloody within inch of your miserable life, or ended it with his power," stated Naruto with his voice being cold as ice and his stare being just as frosty.

"And yet you're not doing what he would! That means you are afraid of me. _You_ fear _me_!" stated Neji smugly before he was blasted by killer intent and the shadow form of something _demonic_ behind the Namikaze looking ready to strike.

"You know nothing of fear boy. You know absolutely nothing about me, yet you _assume_ I am weak, and are trying to make a name for yourself. You _assume_ that because you're of the Hyuuga Clan that you're better, stronger, and faster when compared to everyone else. I can see it in your eyes as clear as day. You think you've won before the battle has even started. Such arrogance gets you _killed_ Hyuuga Neji," said Naruto before he just vanished from his position in the tree until he was behind Neji and the Hyuuga's eyes widened at being unable to see it.

'What? He's faster then Lee! How is that possible?' thought Neji before turning his head to look at Naruto, but the Namikaze had already aimed the back of his fist at the Hyuuga when that happened struck the older boy's left eye, and given how the eyes of a Hyuuga are extra sensitive when on...it hurt _a lot_!

The blow was the beginning of several more violent hits to the Hyuuga's body using what Naruto called the Taijutsu version of the Gatosu stance he developed with Saito during the time they trained together. The stance was basically that of someone going into the Gatosu stance, only without the sword in hand, but was still brutal, and could dish out a great deal of punishment on the enemy. Neji himself was unprepared for this, as he was still stinging from the extra pain from the hit to his eye, and bombarded with blow after blow to his body.

Until Naruto finally landed a hard right to the direct center of Neji's face that sent the Hyuuga with his body slamming into a tree. Before he could say anything, he found the tip of Naruto's sword under his chin, pressing against his throat, and was already drawing some blood while Naruto just stared into his eyes with cold blue ones.

"Listen to me clearly Hyuuga Neji for I will say this only once to you. If you _ever_ and I do mean _EVER_ try something like this again...I'll kill you. Do you understand me?" asked Naruto with Neji looking up at him.

"I...I understand...Namikaze-sama," answered Neji in a humbled tone, yet it didn't fully meet his eyes, and Naruto knew the Hyuuga was not fully humbled.

Not yet.

(End Flashback)

Naruto had not seen Neji since that time they first met, nor did he really care to see the Hyuuga Prodigy unless it was absolutely necessary, and not a moment sooner. The boy was arrogant due to the Byakugan Eyes giving him so much of his so called "power" and the Hyuuga Clan itself acted like they were Gods beyond the reaches of mortal men. It didn't take long to decipher the extent of the Byakugan's powers from what he heard of them when Itachi trained him in the study of combating Dojutsu based bloodlines. The key to the Sharingan Eyes being powerless was not to look into the eyes so they couldn't influence a person with their powers. The Byakugan Eyes were different though, as they saw through the human body, and the chakra coils that made up a network throughout a person. They could see how much chakra someone has, the way it flows, and all the key areas where someone could hit to make it temporarily stop the use of chakra.

For Naruto, he didn't really need to defeat Hyuuga Neji through any direct confrontation to win against him, though the Namikaze could do that regardless, and show the Hyuuga Clan's eyes were not that special. If anything, they were lacking the basic need of eating humble pie with a side of crow needing to be shoved down their throats. All of them had to simply be reminded that they were not superior to others and their faces needed to hit the ground to understand just how mortal they really were.

"Come on Hinata-chan. We're tired. We need to conserve our strength for the Chuunin Exams!" exclaimed an Inuzuka standing beside what Naruto could see was an Aburame, who was also watching the Hyuuga girl training against a padded training post with hard strong strikes with a fierce determination in her eyes.

Well...maybe not _all _of them.

'Her eyes. They aren't like Neji's with a sense of arrogance in them. They are different somehow. There is a sense of..._something _in them. Humility? Purity? She doesn't have that sense of superiority in her I'd expect everyone in her clan to possess. Where do I know her from?' thought Naruto while watching the girl continue her training with the two boys, who were clearly teammates, and fellow Genin doing the same.

"Why are you spying on my team?" said a woman of Jounin rank from the vest she wore while standing behind Naruto.

"Spying? I just arrived. I've been walking around Konoha for some time," said Naruto, as he saw the Jounin kunoichi watching him carefully, and sensed her Genin team was now focusing on him.

"Hey Shino! Is that _him_?" said the Inuzuka while the puppy on his head barked about his scent.

"Yes it is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. My Father gave everyone a detailed description of him upon arriving home after the meeting with the Hokage about his arrival. My bugs tell me he is very powerful. The fact several Jounin and Chuunin have fallen to his hands is proof of this. Do _not _provoke him Kiba. We do not need a confrontation so soon before the Chuunin Exams or any kind of stain on our clan names," Shino stated in his usual stiff voice that spoke of little emotions on his part.

"I know that! He saved my sister the other day from those Jounin and Chuunin. As far as I'm concerned, this guy is okay in my book, and more then welcome at the Inuzuka Clan home anytime!" Kiba exclaimed since he wasn't going to pick a fight with someone, who helped his sister out big time, and be an ass to him.

"I-Its him!" said Hinata in shock at seeing Naruto.

"What do you mean 'it him!' Hinata? Did you have some kind of prior interaction with Namikaze-san?" questioned Shino with Hinata looked nervous while staring at Naruto.

"Before Naruto go taken away by the Fire Daimyo, I met him briefly once when he saved me from some bullies, and was getting beat up. I tried to help, but the bullies shoved me away like they had found a bigger target, and just kept on hurting him until they would grow bored before walking away," explained Hinata while looking down in shame at the memory of being unable to help him.

It was why she trained so hard. To never be weak and unable to help anyone like that ever again!

"You're quite popular with my Genin team I see," stated the Jounin kunoichi with Naruto shrugging at her.

"And you? Where do I exactly stand with you?" said Naruto curiously while the woman just smirked at him.

"I haven't decided yet," said the woman while Naruto just smirked.

"What's your name?" asked Naruto with the woman smirking back.

"Yuhi Kurenai. Jounin of Konoha and sensei to Genin team 8," said Kurenai with Naruto nodding at her and then Genin team 8 before walking off.

'They're entering the Chuunin Exams too from what the Inuzuka mentioned. That a big gamble for a team that's only graduated recently a few Months ago. The woman may have a good head on her shoulders, but like the other Jounin senseis, she's got too much pride, and ego to know such an action is unwise,' thought Naruto while Kurama nodded in agreement.

_**"From what we both saw regarding Genin teams in Konoha applying for the Chuunin Exams, a solid amount of them are this years graduating class, and each of them are acting like their teams can handle the next level of being a Shinobi,"**_ explained Kurama with Naruto scoffing at the idea of these still freshly minted Genin entering the Chuunin Exams and becoming Chuunin.

'The only team I believe is capable of handling the Chuunin Exams from Konoha right now is team 9, _but_ that's only possible if the Hyuuga on the team doesn't act arrogant, and drag them down with him,' thought Naruto while letting out a sigh.

_**"All of them are sons or daughters from the clans. Heirs no less. They will get special treatment from the judges in return for some favor from the clan they help. At least for **__**some**__** of the clans anyway,"**_ stated Kurama with Naruto nodding in full agreement.

'Naturally, we will just have to change that now won't we?' thought Naruto with Kurama grinning behind his cage.

_**"Have I ever told you how sly like fox you are?"**_ asked Kurama with Naruto grinning now in his head.

'All the time Kurama. All the time,' thought Naruto while planning to do some training at the Namikaze Estates.

(Konoha-Sometime Later)

The Fire Daimyo had arrived in Konoha several days before the first part of the Chuunin Exams officially started, his mass of bodyguards being much larger then the usual visits for these kind of events, and Naruto wasn't surprised in the slightest. The Namikaze's instincts had always been dead on when it came to suspicious situations, honed from his years of training with the Shinobi Monks, and they were screaming at him right now to keep a sharp eye out for something! Anything! They were telling him the time the Fire Daimyo arrival until the Chuunin Exam Finals were over would be the time when the Third Hokage would try to do something to sway the Feudal Lord's current opinion of the Leaf in the Sandaime's favor.

"Daimyo-sama," said Naruto humbly, as he kneeled before his Feudal Lord, and looked up at the man that had saved him from despair.

"Rise Naruto. How have things been since we were last together?" asked the Fire Daimyo with Naruto walking beside the man before handing him a report.

"They could be better. My reports have reached you since I've been in Konoha?" asked Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding his head.

"I've received them all, though the situation with Wave Country, and the Sandaime's lack of action to save a Genin team along with their Jounin sensei is appalling!" stated the Fire Daimyo with his escort following him.

"He's not the only guilty party. The Uchiha Clan Head is also at fault here. I suspect he's trying to get his youngest son to awaken his Sharingan Eyes like Itachi did," explained Naruto while the Feudal Lord of Fire Country frowned.

"Is there any proof to this?" questioned the Fire Daimyo.

"Not conclusively, but Itachi agrees with me, and that it is the only reason his Father was so opposed to our interference there. It was a 'Do or die!' mission for Sasuke," explained Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding since Itachi supporting such a theory meant such a thing was true.

"I believe you Naruto. Sadly, I can move against the Uchiha Clan without more evidence on the matter, but I can move against the Sandaime, and his recklessness after the Exams are over," stated the Feudal Lord of Fire Country with Naruto nodding in agreement.

"The Will of Fire has been corrupted, _but_ there are a few _flickers_ of _purity_ in the flame, and can be saved in a sense if given a chance," said Naruto cryptically.

"So you are unsure of Konoha's future?" stated the Fire Daimyo while Naruto nodded.

"There is corruption on the Hokage's part, followed by the Shinobi Advisory Council, and the Civilian Council. The Clan Heads with the exception of the Uchiha Clan have all seen their decision to believe the Sandaime Hokage's lies was wrong. The clans themselves are salvageable with the right screening process and seeing which ones side with the Hokage. It won't be easy," stated Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding.

"Most things in life we want aren't easy," said the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding in full agreement.

"I also suspect the Hokage will try something to 'persuade you' into changing your mind about me and Konoha in general," Naruto stated before explaining how his instincts were detecting _something_ in the air.

"I believe your right Naruto. Stay on your guard until my departure from Konoha," said the Fire Daimyo with the Namikaze nodding.

"I have one more request regarding the Chuunin Exams and require your blessing on the matter," stated Naruto with the Fire Daimyo looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"What exactly do you require my approval for Naruto?" asked the Fire Daimyo before Naruto explained what he wanted to do regarding the Chuunin Exams.

"Do you approve Daimyo-sama?" asked Naruto with the Fire Daimyo thinking it over.

"Yes. Do what needs to be done Naruto," answered the Fire Daimyo with Naruto now sporting a grin on his face.

"Thanks!" Naruto said before heading off to handle things on his own.

(Konoha Shinobi Academy-A Few Days Later)

"Wow! All the Rookie Nine are here," stated Kiba while seeing the other Rookie Nine in the class join together while Gai's team were nearby.

"It does stand to reason such a thing being possible with each Jounin sensei wish to 'show up' the other in a form of healthy competition between them," said Shino while Sasuke just scoffed at the idea.

"Please! Everyone knows I'm the best Rookie of our generation and there is no such thing as "competition' when comparing me to all of you," Sasuke stated arrogantly while Neji had decided to make himself known.

"That's not what I've been hearing in regards to your _big brother_ coming to save you with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki being the one to save your group Uchiha," countered Neji with a smug look on his face showing.

"As if you're one to talk _Hyuuga_! I heard you were in the hospital not that long ago and the beating was from the Kyuubi Jinchuriki himself!" exclaimed Sasuke while raising his voice and getting the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Keep it down. You're attracting too much attention," said a silver haired bespectacled boy in a corner wearing dark purple.

"Who are you?" said Kiba while eyeing the older kid in front of him.

"Names Kabuto. I'm a Genin like you with my team participating in this years Chuunin Exams. A big turn out this time from the looks of it," said Kabuto while looking around to see Shinobi from Iwa, Kumo, Suna, and Mist with a few minor Shinobi villages having sent at least one team to represent them.

To show they still existed while not being as large as the five major Shinobi villages.

"How many times have you taken it? Two? Three times?" asked Shikamaru hoping for some kind of insight into the Chuunin Exams.

"Seven time actually," answered an embarrassed Kabuto while some of the Rookies did not look impressed.

"Either your team sucks or you do," said Kiba with a grin on his face.

"Or both!" said Sasuke with a smirk on his face.

"Perhaps, but with every defeat gives me information I put down on _these _Shinobi Info Cards, and they tell me what I need to know about the people I'm facing," stated Kabuto with a sense of pride in himself while holding the Shinobi Info Cards in hand.

"Even defeat can help pave the road to victory if one uses it wisely," stated Naruto while entering the room and all eyes now on him.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" said Choji while not seeing the spiky haired boy in so long since they had been busy doing other things to run into Naruto.

"There has been a last minute change in plans for the beginning of the Chuunin Exams," stated Naruto while looking at everyone and now had their full attention.

(Hokage Tower-At the Moment)

"What do you mean I'm being _replaced_ as the Head Proctor of the Chuunin Exam Written Test?" exclaimed Ibiki while looking at the Hokage in shock.

"I just received word an hour ago from the Hokage's Aid. He's assigned someone else to take over for you during the Written Test. It is his belief that we will simply show too much favor with our own Shinobi during that part of the exam," said the Sandaime while not liking this at all since that was _suppose_ to be the case though no one was _suppose _to know about that.

All the Clan Heirs were taking it this year. He needed the support of the Clan Heads to counter the slowly growing support Naruto was getting from them after Tsume let it be known her daughter was saved from being violated by Naruto himself. The means to get Neji to fight Naruto had not been easy, as he had spoke to the boy, and asked him what he thought of Naruto. The Sandaime's expectations were met when Neji stated he did not believe the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was anything special, regardless of his Father being the Yondaime Hokage, and would love to fight him in combat. So the Sandaime did a bit of vocabulary manipulation and convinced Neji to embark on such a quest to challenge the Kyuubi Jinchuriki to a fight. If Neji won, it would deliver a major blow to Naruto's own credibility, and prove that he was _not_ better off in the Fire Daimyo's care. If Naruto _won_ the fight, the Sandaime could use it to punish the boy for hurting Neji before the Chuunin Exams when Gai had _conveniently_ entered his team to participate in them two days ago.

Sadly, the plan didn't go like the Hokage wanted, and cursed Naruto's ability to find a way around his plans. The Namikaze had openly refused to fight Neji at first, even when the Hyuuga tried to provoke the blonde, and had only hurt his Gentle Fist using opponent to the point where he would still be ready for the Chuunin Exams. Even if the Sandaime _could _make a case of Naruto being punished, Gai wouldn't hear of it, as he knew what Neji had done, and apologized to the Namikaze on behalf of his reckless student.

Damn Gai and his code of honor!

"I don't show favoritism to anyone in the Chuunin Exams. Favoritism is for the weak!" stated Ibiki and knew the Hokage also knew it too.

"I know, but my hands are tied," said the Sandaime in defeat.

"Who took over for me for the Written Test?" questioned Ibiki with a frown.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto did. Per the boy's _request_ to the Fire Daimyo," answered the Third Hokage with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"I see. Those poor bastards!" said Ibiki with a smirk, which surprised the Hokage, and did not expect to see the scarred man acting calm about it.

"What?" asked a confused Hokage.

"The kid got the short end of the stick Hokage-sama. Those with Uzumaki blood in their veins are vindictive. They hold grudges for as long as they live and even _beyond _life itself when crossed. I've been around Uzumaki Kushina long enough to know that when she was still alive and several people got one her bad side. If Naruto is _anything_ like her, then only the best will get through that part of the exam, and leave with quite a few scars in the minds of each Genin team," answered Ibiki with the Sandaime frowning.

"You shouldn't be encouraging this Ibiki," said the Sandaime with the scarred man now frowning at the Hokage's words.

"I never liked being the Head Proctor for that part of the exam. Scaring a bunch of kids isn't the same when going after a fully grown, fully trained Shinobi, and the value of what they may hold in their head before I crack it open. If this kid can do what I do, then I say let him, and make a name for himself," stated Ibiki while the Hokage clearly dislike what he was hearing.

'Even Ibiki is on his side. Damn it!' thought the Sandaime while Ibiki left.

(Back with Naruto)

"You? You're the Head Proctor?" exclaimed Ino while Naruto just shrugged.

"Impossible!" Sasuke stated while looking at Naruto with anger filled eyes.

"Not when the Fire Daimyo himself makes official," Naruto shot back before he snapped his fingers and the other proctors for the Written Test appeared.

"So you're well connected. Big deal! The Fire Daimyo won't always be around to watch your back or give you what you want," stated Sasuke with Naruto scowling at him.

"Take your seat Uchiha or your team will be disqualified on my command," Naruto told the Uchiha in a cold emotionless tone.

"You won't dare! My Father will speak to the Hokage and then the Fire Daimyo about it should you try!" challenged Sasuke while Naruto's eyes became colder.

"Genin team 7 from Konoha is disqualified for disrespecting the Head Proctor. Take all three of them away _right now_!" stated Naruto with two Chuunin Proctors doing that since they knew Ibiki would have done the same thing.

"You can't do this! I'm an Uchiha! The son of the Clan Head!" Sasuke called out while being forced out of the room with Sakura and Sai.

"Anyone else wish to challenge _MY_ authority?" Naruto called out for all to hear and got a no via the shaking of heads.

'This is unexpected. Orochimaru-sama will not like this one bit,' thought Kabuto since the plan was to make Sound look strong, make Sasuke see the connection Orochimaru had to Sound, and thus lure the Uchiha away to the minor village where the Sannin would soon acquire the Sharingan.

"Good! Before we begin, let me explain to you one thing, and one thing only while in this room while I'm leading this part of the Chuunin Exams. I am the Head Proctor for this event. That means _I_ am the _Boss_! The _Warrior Chief_! I am Kami in all his vengeful glory and will smite anyone here in this room that crosses my path in a way that displeases me in my Universe! You so much as fart, sneeze, or piss in my direction...I'll make sure that the body part that offends me never works properly _ever_ again. AM I UNDERSTOOD!" exclaimed Naruto with every Genin in the room nodding while scared stiff by the huge amount of killing intent from him and knew the blonde was serious.

"Damn! This kid is a regular Ibiki in the making," whispered one Chuunin Proctor with his friend agreeing.

"Now that we've cleared things up, I want every single Genin here to sit down, shut up, and be prepared to take a simple written test that will determine whether or not you have the brains to be a Chuunin," stated Naruto seeing the already nervous Genin before him obey his command while grinning evilly at them all.

Oh yeah! This was going to rock!

(Jounin Lounge)

"What? My team got eliminated right away? How?" asked a shocked Kakashi while one of the Chuunin Proctors, who had been ordered to take team 7 away rubbed the back of his head, and explained everything that happened.

"Naruto did that?" said Asuma in shock while wondering how his team will handle the Namikaze.

"On one hand I don't approve of the Namikaze's action, but the Uchiha did challenge his authority, and called the threat a bluff. To be honest...I am pretty sure Ibiki would have done the same thing," said the Chuunin Proctor with Kakashi letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Great! They didn't even start taking the written test and got taken out," moaned Kakashi in agony knowing he could never live this down.

"I warned you my hip rival. The Uchiha knows nothing of humility and would challenge someone of higher rank to cross him," said Gai in an all knowing way.

"So I've been told," said Kakashi knowing Naruto had warned him earlier about that.

Hopefully, he wouldn't be the only Jounin sensei among this group to have a team fail Naruto's expectations.

(Back in the Classroom)

"FAIL!" yelled Naruto before throwing a kunai at a Genin from Mist, who protested this, and the Namikaze through another kunai at him.

This time, the kunai struck the back of the Genin's hand, and spilled the Mist Shinobi's blood onto the table. His fellow teammates rose to challenge Naruto, but the Namikaze threw a pair of kunai at them, and struck their shoulders.

"You can't do this!" exclaimed one Mist Shinobi with a breathing mask of sorts on his face.

"Who says I can't do this? You failed, you challenged me in my decision, and got injured because of it. Now get out of here. Your team's blood is staining my room," stated Naruto in a "I don't give a damn about you" tone and pointed to the door.

It had gone on like this for sometime now. Even Sabaku no Gaara was intimidated by the fact Naruto was showing zero tolerance to everyone. They were cheating, which was the "secret" behind this part of the exams, but the fact remained that Naruto saw how easily they cheated, and eliminated only those that were seen clearly to cheat. Naruto went a step further by ending certain Genin's methods of cheating, which included stabbing the eye made of sand Gaara used to hang in the air, and told the youngest of the Kazekage's siblings to keep his sand in its gourd. With Neji, the Namikaze had appeared to the right of the Hyuuga's peripheral vision, and flicked the boy right between the eyes. The teams from Iwa had been removed within a span of ten minutes just from the glaring they gave the Yondaime's son alone. They of course tried to fight him afterwards, but the Namikaze proved he was not to be trifled with, and Naruto reminded everyone of what he would do if anyone crossed him.

The indentation of the one Iwa Genin's face on the floor and another's severed hand now on Naruto's desk was proof of this fact while the security cameras in the room recorded everything that went on to further exonerate the Namikaze of any misdeeds.

'Now if only he didn't cut my strings to move the mirrors,' thought Tenten, as she tried to move them with her fingers manipulating the strings to change the arch of the mirrors so they would show test papers of other Genin students still in this before Naruto cut her connection to them.

Though there were not many teams left now.

It was only team 9, team 8, team 10, two Genin teams from Grass village, a Leaf Genin team that Kabuto guy was apart of, two teams from Ame, one from Sound, and that one from Suna. If Naruto kept knocking off more teams left and right...these exams would be short lived for everyone.

"Pencils down! Your time is up," exclaimed Naruto before each Genin obeyed.

"What now?" asked Kankuro though it was more to himself then anything.

"As you might have already known or guessed, the purpose of this part of the exam is not just to answer questions on a sheet of paper. No! Anyone can do that. The _real_ test rather is within the test itself. All of you noticed the questions on this test were beyond most of you and there was no measure of time to 'study' for this. So what do you do when faced with this kind of situation? Simple! You _cheat_!" said Naruto with the teams nodding.

"But you prevented us from cheating and failed most of the teams in the class!" called out Kiba with Akamaru barking from his position in agreement.

"That I did. And why? Because your methods of cheating were noticeable. The purpose of this test was to cheat _and NOT _get_ caught_! Those that failed, were those unable to do it without being noticed by some civilian, and that is a blunder no one should make. Each of you remaining have cheated, but did it in a way where _only _a Shinobi would know, and stop you. This is all a precursor, a prelude if you will to the Shinobi Art of _spying_! That is the job a Shinobi when you spy on the enemy and learn what they are doing before they even do it. Troop movements, sensitive Intel on supplies, people, and other things can be gained by spying. By _cheating_! The trick is to not get caught or there are punishments for it. When a teacher catches a student cheating, then he is punished, and when a Shinobi is caught _spying_...he is punished as well. Only not by a fellow teacher of the village, but by the enemy themselves, and a Shinobi caught spying can be captured before being tortured for information," said Naruto seeing these Genin nod in understanding.

"So the objective is to spy, not get caught, and return to the village with the information we learn before bringing it to our Kage?" asked Ino with Naruto nodding.

"Or to the commander of your outpost, who will then move it up the chain of command, and it will eventually be handed to the leader of your respected Shinobi village," Naruto responded back while pleased his information was sinking into their heads.

"So we should refine our skills to ensure our spying abilities are undetectable to highly skilled Shinobi," said Shino with Naruto smirking.

"Yes! Just because you passed this portion of the exam, doesn't mean your skills here are enough to face other Shinobi in the real world. They have experience, skill, and means to detecting spies. Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, Mist, and all the other Shinobi villages have had Shinobi spy on one another in the past. They all have spies use their skills to counter spy against enemy spies because they know what to look for in the art. My own actions against you was my way of _counter cheating _against your cheating," explained Naruto while the teams nodded once more.

"So you were counter spying in a sense," stated the blonde girl from Suna.

"Exactly! And because you understand this fact...YOU PASS!" Naruto answered back with a grin on his face while the Genin in front of him were shocked to hear those two words.

Before anyone could say anything else, the window to Naruto's right shattered, and revealed a purple haired woman in _very _revealing clothing with a trench coat being her _only _piece preventing anything from being revealed to the point where all the males in the room would get nosebleeds. She had a wild hairstyle with an even wilder look in her eyes and you could tell that this woman would make your life miserable if crossed.

"The second proctor, the sexy, and dangerous Mitarashi Anko is here!" exclaimed Anko proudly with a banner appearing above her and concealing Naruto from view.

Until he destroyed it with a slash of his sword.

"I had heard the rumors of you being late when making one of your _dramatic entrances_ Anko. For _once_...the rumors have proven false," stated Naruto while sheathing his blade with Anko turning around in surprise to see her banner had been cut down and saw the Namikaze in Ibiki's place.

"Where's Ibiki?" asked Anko while Naruto smirked at seeing the woman thrown off by the sudden change in plans.

"I've taken over for him in this particular part of the Chuunin Exams," answered Naruto while seeing Anko was confused, but shrugged it off since Ibiki would fill her in, or the Hokage himself if she asked.

"Fair enough. Okay yo-holy crap! You cleaned house!" exclaimed Anko at finally seeing so few teams getting through this part of the test.

"The others didn't meet up to _MY_ expectations," Naruto stated with Anko nodding.

"There's an understatement of the decade. All right you maggots! I'm the Head Proctor for this upcoming part of the exam. Follow me outside if you dare!" called out Anko while leaping out the window with an evil laugh that echoed into the outside world.

'I almost pity them. _Almost_!' thought Naruto while collecting the papers and frowned when he reached Kabuto's paper.

Like a good Head Proctor, Naruto had done a great deal of research on the Leaf Genin teams entering the Chuunin Exams, and felt this particular boy was out of place. Why did he feel Kabuto's part in the Chuunin Exams was out of place? The boy had taken it _seven times_ now and had yet to advance beyond the rank of Genin the entire time despite his adopted Father giving the boy more then enough training to go beyond it. Kabuto was smart, was trained well, and yet he hadn't advanced at all to Chuunin when taking the exams.

_Unless_...advancing to the rank of Chuunin was not his intended goal! To take it so many times should have raised red flags to every higher up in Konoha and yet...there wasn't any kind of suspicion regarding the bespectacled "Genin"or his team for that matter. There was something foul in the air and it was centered around Kabuto along with his team.

And Naruto knew exactly where to go for help...though he knew the man being asked wasn't in a giving mood.

(With Jiraiya)

"What do you want brat?" Jiraiya rudely asked while sitting in his squeaky chair, in front of his less then stable looking table, which was holding reports from his spies, and other various forms of information.

"Information. You have it and I need it," Naruto answered simply while the man in front of him just grinned like he held all the cards.

"So you want something from me, huh? Funny how things turn out when someone like _you _needs something from a guy like _me_!" Jiraiya professed in a cocky like manner.

"I don't need _you_ Jiraiya-san. Only the information you hold on this table," Naruto once again countered in a tone that told Jiraiya he was not special in the boy's eyes.

"Oh really? Well maybe I don't want to _give you_ this information. Maybe I destroyed it in a fit of rage for being _scorned _by my Godson," Jiraiya shot back with a hint of anger in his voice.

"And maybe I consider you a much bigger fool then even I considered you to be upon an action like that occurring. Besides, you have no _right_ to use the title of Godson against me like it was some kind of guilt trip weapon to be used against my soul. You scorned me _first_ Jiraiya, remember? Besides, the information I seek could save Konoha in the near future, and giving the information to me willingly _might_ reach the Fire Daimyo. He may feel _inclined _to see to it that your living conditions improve significantly from what you have here," explained Naruto with Jiraiya scowling at him.

"So I give you information and get favor from the Fire Daimyo? That's the deal? What about Tsunade?" questioned Jiraiya seeing Naruto's eyes narrowing.

"Yes. That's the deal. Break it and your punishment will make this shack you have for a home seem like a mansion. As for Tsunade...she has to _earn _such an offer. I'm offering it to you because time is of the essence and I have no other choice. You want to run this by Tsunade? Fine! Do it! But the woman won't get any chance of it with the way she's been glaring at me from a distance or harassing Shizune at the hospital every chance she gets," said Naruto with Jiraiya still looking peeved at him.

"What do you want to know?" Jiraiya asked after a standoff of glaring between the two ended.

"I need to know everything about a supposed Genin living here in Konoha. His name is Yakushi Kabuto. His Genin team is currently participating in the Chuunin Exams right now," answered Naruto with Jiraiya raising his eyebrow at the inquisitional request.

"A Genin taking the Chuunin Exams? Why?" asked Jiraiya curiously.

"He has taken it _seven times_ if you count this one. How many Genin take it that long and _not _become Chuunin?" asked Naruto with Jiraiya starting to become concerned by this.

"You have a good point there. This kid _should _have been made a Chuunin by now. Hell, he should be a _Jounin_ by now!" stated Jiraiya while Naruto just nodded.

"This has been ignored by the Hokage and his subordinates meant to report such things to him. Either his men are doing this on purpose _or_...!" said Naruto with Jiraiya narrowing his eyes at him at the accusation.

"The Hokage knows and is ignoring it. But...why? Why would he do that?" asked Jiraiya, as he was loyal to his sensei, but this action was making the Sannin's hair stand on end, and was beginning to question the Hokage's sanity.

"Ask him when you find out everything there is to know about Kabuto and his Genin team. They have been with him since the beginning so they are just as deep in this as Kabuto himself. Dig Jiraiya. The future of your village hangs in balance not only on my word to the Fire Daimyo, but possibly an outside force trying to crush Konoha, and this so called Genin team is part of it," explained Naruto before leaving Jiraiya to set out on his mission.

(Forest of Death-Central Tower)

After five full days, the remaining Genin teams qualifying for the Chuunin Exam Finals had made it through the Forest of Death like Mitarashi Anko had instructed. Though it was not easy in the slightest. Team 10 had qualified by pure luck due to one of the Ame teams had fallen asleep near them one night and Ino quickly possessed on of the enemy Genin with the scroll before sending him their way. After Ino left the Ame Shinobi's body once securing the scroll they needed, Choji knocked the Genin out, and the trio left before their enemy knew what happened. The other Ame Genin team was annihilated two days later and single handedly by Sabaku no Gaara when they tried to take Suna's scroll.

The Sound Genin team fell to Konoha's Genin team 9 after the latter ambushed them from above with weapon from Tenten, followed by flanking attacks at the hands of Rock Lee, and Hyuuga Neji in Taijutsu. Dosu and Zaku were killed in the battle that ensued with Kin being taken prisoner for future interrogations when they heard Orochimaru's name being mentioned by the group before their overall attack. Maito Gai had made it a point to inform his students about Orochimaru and how the man was a traitor to the Leaf in a big way. Anyone from outside of Konoha, who was suspected of even knowing the Sannin's name was considered a possible lead to Orochimaru's location, and to be brought in for questioning.

For Genin team 8 from Konoha, they actually lucked out with one of the Grass teams being mauled by a big bear with the red headed girl with glasses being the only survivor, and had the scroll at the time of their rescue/detainment of the girl by the name of Karin. As it turns out, Karin was more then thrilled to get out of the Forest of Death, handing the scroll to Hinata, and sensed someone who was extremely powerful in this violent place. The statement was further enforced by Shino, who stated his insects felt the same way, and the team plus one decided to make a run for the Central Tower while still possible.

The secondary Grass team, as it turned out, was not really the actual team from Grass village, but Orochimaru in disguise, who had killed the real team, and managed to get into the Forest of Death undetected. Not surprising since Orochimaru knew all of the inner workings of Konoha, and how to get through the first part of the exams. Once he got to the secondary part of the exams, his breathing room became much larger, and his intended plan had been to target the Uchiha. However, Sasuke's arrogance, and Naruto's order of disqualifying the boy had cost the Uchiha before the Written Test of the Chuunin Exams even started. It had been an annoying setback for the Sannin, which Orochimaru found himself had to compensate for on the spot after meeting with Kabuto before giving his spy, and Medic Nin the scroll needed to pass this part of the exam.

When the Sannin tried to flee from the Forest of Death after realizing his plan to turn Sasuke away from Konoha for power was a failure, his old student Mitarashi Anko had shown up, and tried to kill him. Not that she had the power to succeed given how just about everything his old student knew was everything he taught her. Anko had yet to add anything new to herself in order to gain some kind of upper hand over him and the man simply preyed on that simple fact. He had taken Anko down with relative ease, amused at how strong she had become, but mocked her for being weaker then him all the same.

Needless to say, it got Naruto's full attention when Anko came to the Central Tower to inform the Hokage of this, and the Namikaze's suspicion of Kabuto was increasing more with each passing second. The Hokage had tried to keep things quiet for now to "avoid a massive panic", but Naruto knew better, and suspected something was going on with the Third being at the heart if not most of it all.

This was a Shinobi village. If an entire Shinobi village goes into a panic attack over one Shinobi, even with that of a single Sannin, then there was something _seriously_ wrong with the _village_, and needed to grow a damn spine! Shinobi needed to be informed and to properly prepare for any surprise attack Orochimaru might soon make against Konoha. The Hokage claimed he knew what to do, but Naruto doubted it, and told the Third his actions were threatening the Fire Daimyo's safety. The Sandaime had gotten into a small shouting match with the Namikaze about how to defend Konoha was at his discretion and not even the Fire Daimyo could usurp that duty.

Naruto countered saying that such a duty performed by the Hokage was no longer the old man's job to perform with the Fire Daimyo in the village. The Hokage was angry at him for that statement, Anko was amused, and slightly impressed by him before setting out to inform the Feudal Lord of this predicament via Shadow Clone Jutsu. He also made two more Shadow Clones to speak to Itachi and Shizune about this new predicament. As for Naruto himself, he was going to keep an eye on Kabuto, and the team from Suna since Kurama had told him about Shukaku being sealed within Gaara.

"Congratulations for making it this far. Before we begin with the Chuunin Exam Finals, there will be a Preliminary Exam to determine just _who _among all of you will be fighting in the Finals, and for your village. If there is anyone here, who would like to drop out, please raise your hand to be recognized, and leave with a Jounin waiting outside to take you back to Konoha," said Naruto, who had taken over being the Head Proctor again, much to the disgust of the Hokage, and even several Genin that made it this far.

It didn't surprise Naruto in the slightest when Kabuto raised his hand, as he expected it, and sensed the _supposed _Genin didn't have any reason to give up. The young Shinobi's reserves were quite high. _Jounin_ level to be exact! The fact Orochimaru made it to the Forest of Death, only to get away, and not leave a mark on Kabuto just proved the boy was not a loyal Genin of Konoha.

Far from it.

"Proctor, I'd like to withdraw. I'm really beat," lied Kabuto with Naruto narrowing his eyes at him for a moment.

"Very well. You may go Kabuto-san," Naruto stated while seeing Kabuto turn around and start leaving with a smirk no doubt on the bespectacled boy's face.

'That was close. For a moment there, I thought the Namikaze would command the ANBU to subdue me, and order a full interrogation be done,' thought Kabuto with a smirk being on his face now.

When Kabuto was out of sight, Naruto made a hand motion for Anko to come forward, and the Special Jounin obeyed while the Hokage frowned further. Whispering into her ear, Anko's body stiffened slightly while whispering back to him, and Naruto nodding was his answer to her question. A cruel sadistic grin soon spread on her face, as she stepped back before speaking into her headset, and a portion of the wall moved away to reveal a very large monitor. While this happened, the Hokage frowned at Naruto, a suspicion of what was spoken between the two since it happened moments after Kabuto left the area, and he suspected it had to do with that Genin.

"Let's begin with the first match. When the first two names are called, everyone with the exception of those two names must go to the balcony above, and watch until your name is called," stated Naruto with the names flashing at high speed and at random.

While this was happening, Anko was talking to Ibiki, who frowned at what he was telling her, and asking something back. When Anko nodded, Ibiki frowned at hearing Anko's response before checking something, and his frown turned into a deep scowl. It was clear the man's pride had been hurt in letting such a thing, whatever it may have possibly been, get by his usual detecting abilities, and sent a nodding motion to a squad of ANBU under his command before they departed.

Now it was Naruto's turn to smirk knowing just what the two key figures in Torture and Interrogation were talking about.

(Elsewhere)

While this was happening, a meeting between the Daimyo, and the various Clan Heads had been taking place in the room the Feudal Lord was staying. The only exception was the Uchiha Clan, as he felt they were untrustworthy to be in the same room due to the Sharingan Eyes casting potent hypnotic Genjutsu on some of the strongest minds around, and only cared about their standing with little to no love for anyone else _NOT _of Uchiha blood. The Clan Heads before the Fire Daimyo had truthfully expressed their apologies to the man for not looking into Naruto's situation sooner and believing the Sandaime's lies or the implied lies about the Yondaime's son. They had wanted to make things right since the boy's return and prove they were not like everyone else in Konoha seeking to kiss up either person for the sake of saving their own hides.

"I'm pleased to know how repentant you all are in regards to Naruto. While it was not my intention to turn him into a weapon for the glory of Fire Country, it happened nonetheless with the boy being stronger then any could hope to achieve at his young age. I only wish Naruto had known what it was like to have a descent childhood and be loved by the very village his parents died for so many years ago. Its bad enough the Sandaime lied to him and myself, but his own _Godparents_ scorning Naruto makes it even worse!" stated the Fire Daimyo with a scowl on his face while the Clan Heads nodded knowing some of their own kin had a hand in some things and were properly punished for it.

"We are well aware of the conspiracy aimed at Naruto. We do not support those that have conspired against him," stated Hiashi while the Hyuuga Clan Elders would need to be dealt with since they had long believed the boy had been an usurper to their own political power they had long had with the Daimyo for some time.

Naruto's position gave him the ability to have the _eyes_ _and ears _of Fire Country's Feudal Lord.

"You all are here because those among your clan, if not _most _of them have felt the same as you do, and Naruto has stated there are flickers of _hope_ for Konoha despite most of it having been corrupted by those in power. Those people, who _think _they can do whatever they want, and usurp my rule simply because they've _think _they know better then I do. Your Hokage is only in power because _I_ _allow_ _him _to be in charge, but only to a certain point, as I do intend to let someone else take title after the Chuunin Exams are over, and make the Leaf great again," explained the Fire Daimyo with the Clan Heads all nodding knowing this was a key point in Konoha's history and continuation in being a Shinobi village.

"Who do you have in mind to take the Sandaime's place Daimyo-sama?" said Aburame Shibi curiously since the Daimyo rarely ever chose a Kage unless it was under the most extreme circumstances.

Like now.

"Uchiha Itachi," the Fire Daimyo stated with the Clan Heads surprised by this news.

"Itachi? But...he's so young. His Father will try to put pressure on him and no doubt the Uchiha Clan itself will try to flaunt the young man's position of power every chance they get!" exclaimed Inoichi with the other Clan Heads nodding since the man and his clan would do just that.

"Which is why upon appoint to Hokage, Itachi can disband the Civilian Council, and then reform the Shinobi Council with younger members that still have plenty of experience under their belt. The Clan Heads will have the same power as before, but the Uchiha Clan _cannot_ use Itachi's position as Hokage to influence their clan in anyway! I will not have them bullying people around simply because the Clan Head's eldest son is the new Fifth Hokage. Civilian matters will be handled by a separate council, but they will not have any kind of influence in Shinobi matters, and will serve the Hokage. _NOT _there own _personal_ interests," stated the Fire Daimyo nodding.

"The Sandaime won't be pleased with this news. I'm sure he'll want to speak with you before this even happens," Shikaku stated simply knowing the Sandaime would try to argue and convince the Fire Daimyo to keep things as they are right now.

"I'm sure he does. However, I have no intention of being within ten feet of the Third until its time to make the public announcement to everyone in Konoha. Before that, I need you all to promise me not to say _anything _until I make the announcement, and ensure that the transition happens should _anything _happen to _me_!" explained the Fire Daimyo with the Clan Heads tensing since they suspected what the ruler of Fire Country did with the Third being displeased with the sense that there would soon be a "changing of the guard" and wishing to see it stopped.

Without any real connection to his involvement in the actual stopping process no doubt.

"There are those in the village, who will oppose this, and it could lead to a...civil war," stated Inoichi seeing the Fire Daimyo nodding with narrowed eyes at such a possibility.

"If that does happen Inoichi-san, my forces will intervene to remove those that defy my order, and do what must be done to remind Konoha of its place in _my country_," the Fire Daimyo countered and knew the Leaf would not have the strength to fight his army of samurai.

Each of the Clan Heads looked at each other, then back at the Fire Daimyo, and nodded in complete understanding before leaving the Feudal Lord's presence to handle things on their end of the village.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. You all wanted it and I delivered. Hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time...PEACE!)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-The Coming Storm Gathers

Naruto scowled. Not just scowled. He looked increasingly upset. Why? Because of the end result of the Preliminary match between Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata had not been a pleasant in the slightest. Not even close. The match itself was unexpected by all parties watching, as the drawing of names on the board were suppose to be completely random, but Naruto long suspected when the names came up that such a coincidence was not the case, and that someone under orders from the Sandaime Hokage had made that happen. He couldn't prove it of course, such an investigation would take time, and time was something he didn't have right now.

"Hyuuga Hinata is unable to continue fighting. The winner of this match is Hyuuga Neji," stated Naruto with his sword drawn, the tip of it pointed at Neji's face, and the Hyuuga Branch family member was restrained further by the other Leaf Jounin senseis.

"You dare defend this weak coward? She deserves to die!" protested Neji before he was blasted by killing intent from Naruto and the Hyuuga saw the boy's eyes become red with slits.

"Neji! You promised me that the affairs of your clan would not have influence or any part in these exams," said Gai while ignoring the sweat running down his face since he was behind Neji and felt the killing intent aimed at his student.

"Promises to a commoner aren't worth keeping. Even if you are my Jounin sensei," spat Neji while Gai frowned.

"I'm disappointed in you Neji. If it were up to me, you wouldn't even participate a Month from now in the Chuunin Exam Finals," said Gai with Neji smirking.

"Well then, I guess I should be thanking Fate that the decision is not up to you," replied Neji before the killing intent from Naruto increased.

"No you shouldn't. You shouldn't because the decision is up to me. Due to Hyuuga Neji's lack of respect for his opponent, who is also his own cousin, he is hereby disqualified, and the match is now officially ruled a 'no contest'. I enforce this ruling as the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo and not even the _Hokage_ himself can overrule this decision," replied Naruto while giving the Third a look that said "don't even try it" while the Sandaime was scowling at him.

"You can't do this! Do you know how much trouble the Hyuuga Clan will make for you? This an abuse of power!" replied Neji in anger while Naruto kept his cold eyes on him.

"Unlikely. When people hear how you tried to kill your cousin when she was on her last leg after the brutal beating given...your clan won't have a leg to stand on much less any ground to put that leg on," countered Naruto before he quickly sheathed his sword and caught Hinata before she fell down.

"Did I...I do well...Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata with Naruto smiling down gently at her.

"You fought with honor and worked hard to get this far Hinata-chan. You could have taken the easy way out by forfeiting or using the Cage Bird Seal on Neji. But you didn't. You stood your ground and fought with all of your being. It doesn't matter if you lost to Neji. You pushed yourself and now know what to do to get stronger. Through this one defeat, I have no doubt you will achieve many future victories. Now rest," replied Naruto before seeing Hinata smile weakly at him and closed her eyes.

"She will forever be destined to lose. No amount of training will provide future victories like you so pathetically put," remarked Neji while Naruto handed Hinata to some Medics and waited until they were gone before turning to face the Hyuuga Branch member.

Before Naruto vanished from everyone's sight for a second and was in front of Neji with his hand wrapped around the Hyuuga's throat. Neji was surprised he couldn't see such high level of speed, more so when the level of strength behind the iron grip on his throat felt like he was being gripped by the jaws of death, and the Namikaze's eyes were filled with a rage that brought fear to the Hyuuga's heart.

"Naruto! Release him now!" commanded the Hokage, but found the boy unmoving, the various Jounin around the two trying to break the grip Naruto had on Neji's throat, and failing in that aspect.

"How does it feel Neji? How does it feel to have your life held in someone's unmerciful grip? How does it feel to stare into the eyes of death knowing that he will take you no matter how badly you plead or beg for mercy?" asked Naruto coldly with Neji's face first going red, followed by purple, and then blue before he _finally_ let go of the dying Hyuuga Branch member.

The boy fell to the ground grasping for breath, his eyes wide with fear, and looked up at the now cold red eyes of the Namikaze. Neji knew that he had escaped death only on a whim because of Naruto had other things to do and killing the Hyuuga Prodigy was not that high up on his "to do" list at the moment.

"You have been spared death by my hands _twice_ now Hyuuga Neji. There will be no third time. The next time you cross me on a level like this again...I will end you," remarked Naruto coldly before looking at Gai and made a small head motion to get the Hyuuga out of his sight.

'Scary guy. He's practically at Gaara's level of instilling fear if not higher,' thought a now sweating Kankuro, as he had heard the rumors about Naruto, and his position within the Fire Daimyo's Court.

'Such an authority figure out ranks the Sandaime Hokage? Interesting. Perhaps we can work this to our advantage with Temari. I'll have to run it by the Kazekage first,' thought Baki, as he saw Temari watching the boy with interest, and wondered if she would even go for it.

"If there are no further protests on how I do things we can continue," said Naruto, as two new names quickly appeared on the board, and the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries rolled on once more.

(Konoha T&I Department-Days Later)

"This information we got out of Kabuto is most disturbing," said Ibiki, as he was in his office with Anko standing beside him, and both were staring at Naruto looking over all of the information the two had gotten out of the spy for Orochimaru.

After he was detained by Itachi and Shizune, the two hauled the man into the T&I Dept. for information extraction from the two best in the field, and brought in Inoichi to make sure the info was indeed truthful. Naruto had spoken to Ibiki and Anko after the Prelims. were over in private. He told them to triple check everything that Kabuto did and make sure that nothing was left to chance that the spy would lie to them no matter how skilled the top two interrogators were at their job. If Kabuto could take the exam _seven_ times and not get caught on their radar, then there was a chance the spy had means of resisting even their skills until a possible rescue attempt was made by outside forces, and not to take chances of him knowing counter torture techniques.

"Indeed. Orochimaru is in Rice Country and running Sound village. Though that place is merely one of many bases throughout Elemental Countries he runs according to the info here. Kabuto isn't just a spy, but a Medic Nin too, and has been key to Orochimaru's own survival on many occasions. Assisting in his many experiments, killing innocent people, and the failed experiments that followed trying to bring about their victim's potential," replied Naruto, as he read over the info several times, and handed it back to Ibiki.

"I still can't believe our village's security is _this_ lax. To do this _seven_ _times_ and not get caught makes us look incompetent," remarked Anko with Naruto nodding.

"That's what happens when arrogance poisons a village Anko-san. You become stagnant. You do not change while others around you do change and wait until an opportunity to strike makes itself known through your predictable habits. Add to the fact that there are forces inside Konoha in key places making it happen only makes this situation worse," added Naruto with Ibiki and Anko frowning since they knew that was true.

"You honestly suspect the Sandaime is involved in this? It makes no sense," questioned Ibiki, as he had known the Third since being a Shinobi, and until now had no felt any reason to doubt the Hokage.

"And yet Kabuto's confessions from his years of spying and the verification made from his memories says otherwise," countered Naruto with Ibiki sighing and it was clear the man believed in the village though this news was shaking the faith he had in the Will of Fire.

"The Hokage wants a report on the matter. He's been demanding it since we started," said Anko knowing that the only reason the Third had not interfered personally at any point during the interrogation process was because Naruto had forbidden it with the support of the Fire Daimyo.

"Of course the Hokage does. He wants to know what you've learned from Kabuto. If the spy has implicated him in his connection to this inevitable invasion by Orochimaru with Suna allying with the Sannin," answered Naruto before smirking at them.

"You have a plan?" asked Anko with Naruto's smirk increasing.

"Yes. You will draw up two different reports One report goes to the Fire Daimyo and the Clan Heads with the exception of the Uchiha Clan since they can't be trusted. The second report, which will be false, goes to the Sandaime Hokage, and the Uchiha Clan Head due to him running the Police Force throughout Konoha. As far as the latter of the two sides is concerned, you didn't get anything from Kabuto about the Sandaime Hokage, and his connection to Orochimaru. You will only learn of the impending invasion, what is going to happen, and that the means of countering it are on a need to know basis of the highest level. When the time comes, sides will be chosen, and the battle lines will be drawn with the Shinobi of this village having to make a choice on who to side with. The Sandaime, Danzo, the Shinobi Council, and the Civilian Council are all aiding Orochimaru in his schemes while keeping his two remaining students in the dark about it to have plausible deniability. That way, when the end result happens, which I have an idea of what it is, one of his two students can take the mantle of Hokage without smearing their reputation when their credentials are examined, and no one would question whether one of them was right for the job," replied Naruto with Ibiki and Anko going wide eyed at this since they pieced it together from their own skilled minds at deducing things.

"The Sandaime Hokage plans to make people in Konoha be reminded of the Will of Fire by orchestrating an invasion. He plans to be a martyr and is using Orochimaru to do it with Suna being weakened at the same time. If Konoha expels an allied invasion aimed at destroying the village and dies fighting in the process...it would mean his way of doing things could go on unopposed long after a successor was named," concluded Ibiki with Naruto nodding.

"No one would be able to oppose the Sandaime Hokage's way of doing things, even if the next Hokage didn't like it, as Danzo, and the Councils would constantly remind people of what the old fool died believing. That his way was right and his victory over Orochimaru and Suna were proof of it. The people would rally behind such things and would remove the Hokage that didn't follow it under the belief that the Sandaime's successor was not the passionate protector the old man was when fighting the enemy invasion," added Naruto with the boy seeing both Konoha Shinobi not liking this one bit.

"Such a scandal could bring Konoha to an all time low. It would make people question whether or not staying in the village is worth it. The Shinobi may question if this place is worth fighting for," said Anko with Naruto nodding.

"After the way the two of us have been treated in the past? How the very people behind it were those we once trusted without question? Do you honestly believe that this village is worth fighting for?" asked Naruto with Anko looking at Ibiki, who nodded that he would keep quiet about her answer, and saw the woman becoming deadly serious.

"The village itself as a whole? No. But there are a rare few people in it worth fighting and dying for that I know I can trust," answered Anko with Naruto nodding and smiling.

"Good answer. Its actually the correct answer," replied Naruto before getting out of his chair.

"What do we do with Kabuto? Or that Karin girl we learned was another spy under the disguise of being a Grass Nin?" questioned Ibiki with Naruto thinking for a moment.

"Keep Kabuto locked away in the deepest darkest cell you have here. No one is allowed to see him. Not even the Hokage. If he asks, just tell him that I forbid it, and my word is an extension of the Fire Daimyo. As for Karin? She is an Uzumaki. Like myself. Send her to the Namikaze Estates. I wish to speak with her about siding with family over the snake she serves," answered Naruto before leaving to check up on things with Jiraiya and see if the perverted fool was on the path to redemption.

Or damnation

(Konoha Hospital)

"I'm sorry Hinata. I have failed you," said Hiashi, as he stood before his daughter lying in the hospital, looking at him with shocked eyes, and wondered if he had been that cruel to his daughter in the past to cause her to look at him with such disbelief.

"Father?" questioned Hinata with Hiashi sitting in a chair with his head leaning down in pure shame aimed at himself while Shizune was beside Hinata and checking her injuries over to ensure they were healing nicely.

"I have tried to be a loving Father to you my daughter. I have tried and failed to be the Father I know you have always wanted me to be in life. That _I_ have always wanted to be in life. I have tried to help you without the Clan Elders interfering, but I fear their reach is too long, and deep into the clan to prevent any chance of that happening. This is possibly the only time where I can confess this to you without the Elders stopping me from ever speaking my mind. They have felt that showing mercy to family for whatever reason there may be one, is a sign of weakness, and it is their belief that a noble clan like ours cannot have any weakness. That those that are weak within the Hyuuga Clan are that of the Branch family and are made to serve them without question. I have never embraced this like they have, mostly because of my brother, your Uncle Hizashi was a member of the Branch family, and your Mother despising the Cage Bird Seal long before they both died the way they did. Please Hinata. Please forgive me for not being stronger. Forgive this foolish old man you call a Father for being so weak that he cannot defend his family from the clan itself," replied Hiashi with tears running down his face and holding his daughter's hand.

"I forgive you Father. It wasn't your fault. I have seen the sadness in your eyes despite many attempts to hide it from everyone," answered Hinata with Hiashi crying harder.

"Just like your Mother. You see things that others do not. What most of our clan does not despite out eyes being boasted at the best in perceiving things where other Dojutsus do not," remarked Hiashi, as he smiled at Hinata, and she smiled back.

"Looks like you have another visitor," remarked Shizune, as she saw the two look to see Naruto standing by the door with flowers in his hand, and a smile on his face.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Hinata happily while blushing at the sight of her crush walking into the room with the flowers.

"Hi Hinata-chan. Resting well and getting stronger I see," replied Naruto with Hinata blushing further while Hiashi decided to quietly observe the two along with Shizune.

"I wouldn't say I'm getting stronger," countered Hinata shyly.

"Yes you are and on a personal family matter front too. There are many different ways to get stronger Hinata-chan. This being one of them," Naruto explained using the training he got from the Shinobi Monks at the Fire Temple.

"He's right Hinata. Dealing with family matters like this helps heal mental wounds and scar no Medical Jutsu can heal. Something _MY_ former sensei forgot to learn much less teach me a long time ago," added Shizune with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"Some things can't be taught by someone Kaa-san. You have to learn certain things on your own. You have long since surpassed Tsunade-san on that front," stated Naruto with Shizune smiling at him.

"Thank you Naruto," replied Shizune while finishing up with Hinata and leaving the three to discuss some things.

"How are things regarding Neji's behavior?" asked Naruto with the two Hyuuga looking depressed for a moment while he put the flowers on Hinata's bed.

"My Nephew is acting as a Nara would say, troublesome in regards to being removed from the Chuunin Exams, and the Elders went to the Fire Daimyo demanding your own decision regarding his expulsion from the Finals be overturned. When the Fire Daimyo refused, stating that Neji's actions against his cousin were horrifying, and inexcusable to say the least...the Elders were irate. They threatened to make this a political nightmare for him and he countered saying his own actions could make things difficult for the clan as a whole," answered Hiashi with Hinata looking nervous since the Elders could take this out on her or her Father.

They usually did in some manner or another.

"I take it they were also displeased with Hinata's performance?" questioned Naruto with Hiashi nodding.

"Unless something is done, the Hyuuga Elders will push for her being marked with the Cage Bird Seal, and moved to the Branch house of our family," answered Hiashi with Hinata flinching in fear.

"There might be a way to do that, but...it would be a dangerous route to take considering it would involve me, and the Uzumaki Clan," replied Naruto with Hiashi looking at him for a moment with suspicion and Hinata herself was curious too.

"You're talking about...a marriage. An arranged marriage approved by both clans between yourself and Hinata," deduced Hiashi with Hinata blushing and now pressing her fingers together.

"Officially, yes. Unofficially, it would be a means to keep Hinata from being branded with the Cage Bird Seal. We can set it up that the arrangement can end at any time if either Hinata or myself wished it to with both of us reaching a mutual agreement that it should," replied Naruto with Hiashi nodding and Hinata looked a little sad at first before she realized they both had to agree if they wanted to the arranged marriage contract to become void.

"Agreed. If you prepare the proper papers, I can sign them, and make it official before the Hyuuga Elders can make their move against Hinata. Once I sign them, you must take the scroll to the Fire Daimyo, and have him put his seal on it to prevent anyone from trying to nullify the arrangement. Once the Fire Daimyo makes it official, it is unbreakable, and not even the Hyuuga Elders much less the rest of the clan can oppose it no matter how hard they may try," stated Hiashi with Naruto nodding.

"There is also the issue of me falling under the CRA to take to restart both clans. Will that be a problem for either of you?" added Naruto with Hiashi nodding in understanding while Hinata was still blushing.

"I don't believe it will. Hinata?" replied Hiashi with Hinata trying to keep her composure.

"I don't mind, as long as they don't marry Naruto-kun for his status. It should be for the right reasons," answered Hinata with Naruto smiling at her.

"A rare flower if there ever was one," remarked Naruto with Hinata's face getting redder by the second before she fainted.

"Just like her Mother," added Hiashi with a sigh.

"I'll leave you two alone. I have to take care of some things elsewhere in the village," said Naruto before bowing and then leaving.

(Namikaze Estates-Hours Later)

"I can't believe another Uzumaki exists. Well...half an Uzumaki anyway," said Karin, as she had been held in a cell soon after being taken away by the ANBU after the incident in the Forest of Death with her stupid team dying via pissed off bear, and was greeted to the sight of one Morino Ibiki.

Though rather then be grilled for information about Orochimaru, she had been told about what happened to Kabuto, how they knew everything, and how the only reason she was not in a cell with the spy was due to one of her kinsmen being in such a high position. When she heard that, Karin was shocked to hear an Uzumaki aside from herself was very much alive, well, and in high standing in terms of influence. When Karin asked for the name of her mysterious benefactor by blood, she was floored once more that it was one Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, and that he wanted to meet her at his home in the village.

"You and me both Karin. It was quite a shock to hear that there was an actual Uzumaki among Orochimaru's ranks. I'm actually surprised an Uzumaki would join his ranks in the first place," replied Naruto with Karin looking a bit sheepish.

"Well...it wasn't like I had much of a choice. To be honest, I never liked Orochimaru, and only stayed because I didn't have anywhere else to go," answered Karin with Naruto now frowning.

"What about your parents?" asked Naruto with Karin looking away.

"They died when I was very young. When I was a few years old. I don't know how it all happened, only that Orochimaru took me in, and he trained me to be his spy along side Kabuto. Though I did learn he took my parents journal before the fire they were in had consumed everything. I was able to get a glimpse of it and learned my parents were in fact Uzumaki and they tried to get in contact with Konoha for some time while they were living in Grass Country," explained Karin with Naruto frowning further.

"And they were unsuccessful?" questioned Naruto with Karin nodding.

"They sent a message straight to the Sandaime Hokage himself. Explaining the situation they were in and wanted to come to Konoha. When they didn't hear back, they feared that something was wrong like their message got intercepted, or the Hokage had yet to read the letter they sent despite the Uzumaki Seal on the scroll. A man as old as the Sandaime Hokage should easily recognize the clan symbol and act quickly," answered Karin, which made Naruto frown even harder, and wondered what the boy was thinking.

"That bastard. That evil old bastard screwed my clan over once again," whispered Naruto with Karin frowning.

"You mean the Third Hokage? Are you saying that...that the Sandaime Hokage...that he sent ANBU to my family's home and killed them?" questioned Karin with Naruto slowly nodding.

"Who else knew you and your parents were of Uzumaki blood. The old man sends a team to kill your parents, Orochimaru picks you up soon after, and uses you to be part of their shared Master Plan for the Leaf. The Sandaime knew if your parents made it to Konoha, they would learn of my existence, and would have adopted me into the family on grounds of the Uzumaki blood running in my veins made me part of the Uzumaki Clan. A clan he has ensured was wiped from the pages of history and the memories of the people within this village all to control me. You were kept alive in the event the fox ever got out and a new Uzumaki was needed to seal him into you with Jiraiya no doubt being the only Seal Master capable of doing it," replied Naruto with Karin looking at him in shock.

"I was going to be a...backup Jinchuriki for them?" questioned Karin with a look of pure horror on her face knowing the stories of how Jinchuriki were hated by the villages they lived in even though the villages were responsible for making Jinchuriki in the first place.

"It makes sense. Only an Uzumaki can contain Kyuubi. Whether you are a full, half, or a quarter Uzumaki it doesn't matter. You are a prime candidate to hold a Biju," answered Naruto with Karin looking like she had just been stabbed in the chest by a close friend.

"I...I almost became a sacrificial pawn and didn't even know it," whispered Karin, as she had collapsed into her seat on the couch, and Naruto sighed.

"I've been there Karin. Believe me when I say I know the feeling. But that won't happen now with me around. I've already spoken to the Fire Daimyo and he's agreed to grant you amnesty if you help me during this time," stated Naruto with Karin nodding.

"I'll do it. I'm going to enjoy sticking it to Orochimaru and the Sandaime Hokage. They think they can manipulate me, you, and the Uzumaki Clan? Well I say fuck them and their plans! I say we grab them by the balls and twist hard until their nuts fall off before shoving them down their throat!" exclaimed Karin with full blown anger on her face and in true Uzumaki fashion too.

"I like your passion though we must do this with precision. Even if we were to face them now, it would not be as impacting as it should be, and still leave room for our enemies to escape the level of punishment we would like to inflict. First, we need to keep you here away from the Sandaime Hokage, his followers, and Shinobi loyal to them. I've already had the two Sound Shinobi that lost during the Chuunin Exam Prelims detained and the other made it sadly to the Finals so he can't be touched by us. So far, Orochimaru does not suspect we know just how much of his plans we know, nor does the Hokage suspect how much we know of his own involvement, and I'd like to keep it that way," explained Naruto with Karin nodding.

"You will get no argument from me. Though I would like to get into the fight when the time comes to do the fighting. I may be more of a Medic Nin, but I can still hurt people, and I know exactly where to hurt when the time comes. Believe it or not, Orochimaru actually did like Senju Tsunade's idea of a Medic Nin on an assigned Shinobi team, and made sure I was one since my teammates were weak. Not that it mattered since the damn bear killed those two before we even knew the animal was upon us," replied Karin while Naruto just nodded in agreement.

"I'll see to it we expand your education with help from my adopted mother Shizune. She was Tsunade's apprentice at one point. Whatever skill you need to Master, Kaa-san can help with, and then some so you'd be in good hands," stated Naruto knowing the girl being the full blooded Uzumaki that she was, would no doubt get anxious while staying cooped up all day with nothing to do, and would need a healthy outlet for all her energy.

"Really? Thanks!" exclaimed Karin happily since she wanted something to do and not let her skills get rusty.

"No problem," replied Naruto, as he left for his Father's old office, and moved to take care of the business with the Hyuuga Clan to protect the girl that didn't deserve what she got from her family.

(Jiraiya's Home/Hut-One Week Later)

"I found out some things for you gaki. Things that I never wanted to believe were even remotely true," replied Jiraiya sadly with Naruto nodding since he had seen some of those things himself.

"I thought as much. Still think your sensei is the great man you once looked up to in the past?" said Naruto calmly while looking over the information and cross referencing it with what he knew from memory.

"Had you asked me that two weeks ago, I would have said yes without hesitation, and told you to get lost. But now...now I can't even say that with conviction in my heart," answered Jiraiya, as he saw the boy, who was his student's only son scowling at him, and the image of Minato seemed to project itself behind Naruto with that same scowl.

"I don't expect you to say it at all! Your sensei is _scheming_ with _Orochimaru_. He along with Danzo, the Shinobi Council, and the Civilian Council are going to benefit from what is to come regardless if the Third lives through it or not. If anything, your sensei is going to die a supposed martyr to his cause that is meant to wipe his past sins we've uncovered away, and any future Hokage that succeeds him will have to follow his example or lose the support of the village majority. Your own student, who is my Father would _never_ have done that, and we both know my Father would have _killed_ the Sandaime for what he's been doing over the years since coming out of retirement," replied Naruto seeing Jiraiya looking down in shame knowing the boy was right.

"I know. I know! But what do you expect me to do? Even if I go against sensei, the man trained me since I was a Genin. I grew stronger because of him and showed my sensei that even a dead last could shine brighter then any Prodigy. I thought with Orochimaru out of the village due to his crimes and doing whatever the old man asked of me...I would finally get his respect in outshining my genius for a teammate who has constantly casted a large shadow over me," said Jiraiya in a defeated tone.

"If he truly respected you, the old fool wouldn't have secretly supported Orochimaru, and let things get this far out of hand. We both know the man doesn't respect you and never will respect you. He is using you Jiraiya. To him, you are nothing more then a tool, and Orochimaru is the son he always wanted in life. He has been playing on your desire for his affection and respect as one of his greatest of students. But I know that the Sandaime Hokage will not because it would mean he backed the wrong horse, and the old fool's pathetic pride will never let him do that even at this late stage of his life," stated Naruto with Jiraiya flinching under his truth filled words.

"What do you want from me?" asked Jiraiya in a defeated tone knowing the boy was right and he had been the biggest fool that ever lived.

"We know what Orochimaru is planning, we know who is going to be where when the invasion starts, and who among the enemy are the biggest threats of all. Orochimaru gave Suna temporary snake summoning scrolls to use in the attack outside of Konoha while Suna has Sabaku no Gaara with the one-tailed Biju sealed inside of him being unleashed during the Chuunin Exam Finals. Orochimaru is going for a pincer movement in which he attacks Konoha both from within as well as without while everyone in the village gets slaughtered. Suna will no doubt be the main bulk of the combined army since we both know Orochimaru couldn't get many top quality Shinobi among the ranks of his Sound forces in such a short time. Meaning _you_ my former Godfather, are going to attack the summoning team outside of Konoha, and make sure none of the snake summons breach the village's walls," ordered Naruto with Jiraiya nodding knowing the weakness of a pincer movement is one of the sides not attacking when it should.

Both sides of such a move needed to work together at the same time in order to create an air tight trap filled with lots and lots of dead or captured people.

"Consider it done. What about Tsunade?" said Jiraiya with Naruto frowning.

"Keep her out of the loop for now. She won't believe me no matter how much evidence I bring against the old monkey. I could Show her a video of the Sandaime doing business with Orochimaru and Tsunade would still hate my guts while calling me a liar. If you do it, she'll ask where this evidence came from, and wouldn't believe you if knowing it came from me. Chances are, Tsunade will tell the Sandaime, and the old monkey will change some if not most of the things in their shared plan," answered Naruto with Jiraiya not liking the idea of keeping this from Tsunade.

"She is the Granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage. I would think that she would defend the village from Orochimaru when the attack happens," countered Jiraiya with Naruto leaning in close to the Sannin.

"Do you really believe that? Or do you believe that she will use the chaos from all of the fighting to kill her former student after Shizune left to help me?" questioned Naruto with Jiraiya sighing again knowing Tsunade better then most.

"You're right. She would do that. Hell, I imagine Tsunade would move to kill you if she saw an opening, and claim it was an enemy combatant. But she's not going to sit on her hands and knees while the Chuunin Exam Finals take place. Chances are, Tsunade will be there to heal the competitors there of their injuries, and that is in the Medical Center in a section below the stadium spectator area on the west side," explained Jiraiya with Naruto nodding.

"I am the Head Proctor again for the Finals. The Fire Daimyo wants to ensure there are no unfair decisions regarding Konoha Shinobi or any Shinobi for that matter currently assigned to compete. He feels Konoha's current low standing reflects upon him as well and has try raising his own by showing he isn't favoring the village's past actions. He hopes to raise Konoha to some degree though it will have to be earned on the end of its Shinobi. Meaning everyone is in for the long haul," replied Naruto with Jiraiya nodding.

"I understand," stated Jiraiya with Naruto nodding.

"Good. Perhaps there is hope for you yet. And remember Jiraiya, do _NOT_ tell Tsunade _a single damn thing_!" reminded Naruto with Jiraiya nodding once again.

"Not a word," replied Jiraiya before Naruto left his home.

(Suna Team's Hotel Room)

"A _seduction_ mission?" questioned Temari while looking at her sensei Baki like he had just told her that she was the Jinchuriki of the group and not Gaara.

"Yes. Our information about Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto has indeed been proven accurate from our own contacts in the Fire Daimyo's Court. The boy has the eyes and ears of the Feudal Lord of this country. He trusts the boy and has been called the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo himself when it comes to enforcing his will," answered Baki, as he carefully explained to them who Naruto was, and his title as the infamous Ying Yang Fox.

"So Temari has to somehow seduce him and then what? Kill him?" asked Kankuro with Baki looking at him like he was an idiot.

"No! Of course not! Do you honestly think Temari will survive the aftermath of such a scandal? The Fire Daimyo would demand her head if she killed him. To kill the very eyes and ears of the Fire Daimyo, a young boy who has probably the most favor of _anyone_ in Fire Country is signing their own death sentence. Temari would be outcast from Suna and Wind Country while having a massive bounty on her head. You would be hunted down by all sides, including our own village, _especially_ our own village to remove the shame we would have endured from it, and have to hand her over to the Fire Daimyo for the trial with the execution that followed," replied Baki with Kankuro flinching at that.

"So what do I do exactly besides flirt, kiss, and get into this guy's pants?" asked Temari while not liking this at all.

"The boy is already famous for his recent actions in Wave Country for taking down a business tyrant named Gato. Whoever he marries will have considerable influence on Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto and by that extension the Fire Daimyo. You Temari are going to seduce the boy, gain his trust, his influence, and eventually marry him," explained Baki with Temari's eyes widening and Kankuro's jaw dropping.

"You want to use me in some kind of mission where I have to _marry_ the guy? What you want me to have his kids too?" demanded Temari angrily.

"If it helps us achieve what we need to influence the Fire Daimyo through him then yes. As I said, you will seduce Naruto, get close to him, even marry, and convince the boy that Suna is a village the Fire Daimyo should take interest in over Konoha. That we have skilled Shinobi and are a wasted resource that would be a waste to ignore," replied Baki with Temari frowning.

"They say this Namikaze is like me. Is this true?" asked Gaara while Baki nodded.

"Yes to an extent. He has a Biju sealed inside of him. A stronger seal too," answered Baki with Gaara frowning further.

"Wait! We are nearing the day of the invasion with each passing day. Aren't we rushing things a bit with Temari getting all seductress here?" questioned Kankuro with Temari for once agreeing with her questionably gay (due to him wearing makeup) brother.

"We may not get another chance at this before the Chuunin Exam Finals and the invasion comes. If we can influence the Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo and show our might during the invasion, we can strike on two fronts, and show Suna is indeed the stronger village," answered Baki with Temari not liking this one bit.

"When do I start?" asked Temari with Baki looking out the window.

"Right away. Possibly in the next day or two," answered Baki with Temari nodding and leaving for her room to mentally prepare for this.

"I have a question. What if the Ying Yang Fox fights one of us and screws up the entire invasion? He does have a Biju of his own inside of him after all and the Kyuubi is much stronger then Shukaku," said Kankuro since it was no longer a secret that Naruto was the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi.

"Which is why Temari is running interference with this mission. If we can get him to like Temari, we can make him hesitate in fighting us, and seeing things our way when the time comes," replied Baki with Kankuro sighing.

"I still dislike us working with Orochimaru. There is something about the guy that makes my skin crawl," remarked Kankuro with Gaara silently agreeing with him though made sure no one knew it.

"Agreed, but the Kazekage has stated we are to work with him, and the word of our Kage is absolute in this manner," replied Baki with the two boys in front of him nodding.

Though one of them would have preferred to kill the Kazekage rather then side with him.

(Namikaze Estates-Sometime Later)

Naruto was practicing in his family dojo for several hours now with his bo staff, moving it around swiftly, decisively, and with deadly precision he had been taught by the Fire Temple Shinobi Monks. As he trained, Naruto thought about Konoha as a whole, the level of corruption that had poisoned it, and just how badly the poison had spread all the way down to the roots of the tree itself. The tree would soon lose all life to it and with enough strength from outside forces or even internal such as the ground around the tree being unstable...it would fall over.

The Kyuubi Jinchuriki always fancied himself to be a gardener on the side when he wasn't training and in his eyes he saw the village like one big garden with a tree in the center of it. However, without management, and care from the gardener then the tree can die from internal damage that spreads throughout the massive object of nature. Without the tree being strong, the garden would wither away, and die from the same lack of care as the tree itself.

Naruto had been commissioned by the Fire Daimyo to watch over this garden that was Konoha and to ensure the poison in this tree along with the plants surrounding it were protected from it.

And Naruto intended to do just that.

"Naruto-sama, you have a visitor," called out Karin, as she had taken the role of being his maid to hide her presence here, and so far no one that visited (the rare few that did visit and rarer few that even knew the truth about it) said a word.

"I'll be there in a moment," replied Naruto, as he dried himself off, and came to see who was visiting him today.

And saw it was none other then the Sandaime Hokage.

"Hello Naruto," said the Sandaime gently while two ANBU were behind him in flanking position.

"What are you doing here old man? You're not welcome in my house," replied Naruto with the ANBU going stiff as a board and their hands twitching in wanting to reach for their weapons to use on him for his _supposed_ disrespect.

They only stopped because the Hokage had not given the order.

"I just came to checkup on you. The Chuunin Exams can be a pretty hectic event for one so young. Especially when a Shinobi is the Head Proctor for all three different parts of the Exams," offered Hiruzen calmly with Naruto scowling.

"I've been through worse. You of all people know that," replied Naruto with Hiruzen frowning slightly.

"Naruto, I assure you the horrible events of your life leading up to the Fire Daimyo taking you in have been a considerable..._misunderstanding_ on my part," countered the Sandaime with Naruto's eyes narrowing.

"Misunderstanding? I suffered under your rule, to be enslaved, controlled, and ultimately manipulated to being your weapon all because of a..._misunderstanding_?" accused Naruto with the Sandaime smiling nervously.

"Of course! You have to understand Naruto that the people of this village needed to have some kind of outlet for their pain and suffering. I allowed them that outlet because it was a risk to their mental health, the lives of their families, and I couldn't allow them to turn on each other," replied Hiruzen with Naruto not liking his answer one bit.

"And what about _MY_ life? You couldn't lie to people? You couldn't lie to people saying the fox was destroyed? You couldn't lie to the people and let their hate wash away from knowing the Biju they hated wasn't around anymore?" accused Naruto with Hiruzen frowning again.

"At the time, the truth seemed more appropriate, and I...," explained the Sandaime, but was silence by an enormous amount of killer intent from Naruto with the two ANBU in the room ready to fall to their knees.

"Don't you tell me about _appropriate_! You tried to turn me into your dumb naive pet to heel and fight for a village that hated my guts the moment they heard the truth about the fox being sealed in my stomach. You didn't care if it ruined my life. You didn't care about the village's overall health. All you cared about was controlling the power I had inside of me and to manipulate if not kill whoever would prevent that from happening!" exclaimed Naruto with the Sandaime scowling fully and tried to fight back against the killer intent.

"Konoha has to be the strongest Naruto. Fire Country has many enemies. If we don't do what is necessary, then how can we stay the strongest, and protect what we love?! I have always done what was necessary to protect Konoha and will do so by _any_ _and_ _all_ means necessary," countered the Sandaime angrily with Naruto now snarling at him.

"And _I_ will do what _I_ _must_ to do what is right to see that you fail. Konoha has a cancer in its governing body. _You_! I will ensure that by the time the Chuunin Exams are over, the name Sarutobi Hiruzen is one that is not loved, but hated, and scorned like I was growing up," Naruto shot back with Hiruzen narrowing his eyes and it was clear the Hokage was itching to lash out at him but couldn't for fear of the Fire Daimyo investigating at such a time when the Feudal Lord could just order the village's liquidation regardless if there wasn't any proof of his own hands removing the boy from play.

"And how do you intend to do that _boy_?" asked the Sandaime with Naruto smirking now.

"As you said earlier old monkey...by _any and all_ means necessary," replied Naruto while using the man's own words against him.

"We will see," said Hiruzen before leaving with the ANBU right behind him.

"Yes. We will see old man. Count on it," said Naruto with his eyes moving to Karin, who was secretly watching behind a hidden room where one could spy on people without the fear of anyone knowing.

"I say we kill that son of a bitch right now. Why wait until the Chuunin Exams when the invasion is going to happen?" questioned Karin with Naruto smirking at her.

"Because I want to gather all the people connected to Konoha's corruption to be gathered in one single spot. A place where violence and death with soon become temporarily legal through the chaos that will be this planned invasion. When killing a nest of serpents, all the snakes must be gathered together before springing the trap, and making sure none of the serpents escape when you set the nest on fire," answered Naruto with Karin's eyes going wide before smiling.

"I see. Clever! Does the Fire Daimyo know about Orochimaru's invasion?" asked Karin with Naruto nodding.

"Yes. He's sent a message back to the Capital requesting additional reinforcements, but that they arrive discreetly few days before, and during the Chuunin Exams. When the time comes for the invasion to start, the Fire Daimyo will be ready on his end, and we will crush the invasion along with all guilty parties within Konoha in one swift stroke," replied Naruto with his eyes burning with a fire that startled Karin.

Inside those blue piercing eyes was a fiery storm of simmering rage, one that promised to bring about untold destruction upon anyone that crossed him in the past, and just about _everyone_ that would be his future enemy.

Karin was glad that she would never be on the receiving end of such a storm or at least hoped she wouldn't be anytime in the near future. Karin had no doubt that Naruto would never lash out at her maliciously and only if she had made the first move in betraying his trust would they become enemies. But an Uzumaki did not betray a fellow Uzumaki, as that was taboo on every sense of the word, and if they _did_...then they were not worthy of the blood running through their veins.

They deserved to have it running out of their body and die.

(A/N: YAY! I updated. I know I basically skipped through the Prelims. of the Chuunin Exams. To be honest, it was giving me trouble after the Hinata VS Neji fight, and I felt that was the only true significant moment I could right about the Prelims before I said the Hell with it. I might do a flashback regarding Gaara's fight with Lee in the next chapter or with his killing of Dosu, but basically its roughly the same as what you know (minus a few things if you reread the chapters) from the actual cannon. With that said, I hope this lives up to your expectations. Sorry this took so long. My mind has been all over the place and its hard to stick one story when ideas pop in for different things and your mind screams at you to write them. Until next time...PEACE!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-Invasion

Naruto was walking through Konoha's streets. His mind on different things being drawn out with the events pertaining to the Chuunin Exams as they got closer and closer. It was only recently that he found the corpse of the Sound ninja under the guise of Konoha one that was one of Kabuto's teammates, who had advanced during the Preliminaries to the Finals. All thanks to Sabaku no Gaara crushing said ninja with his sand because the red haired boy was provoked because the two were meant to fight each other among the start of the Chuunin Exam Finals. Not that it mattered if the fake Konoha ninja participated or not. In truth, the agent of Orochimaru was going to be arrested on the day of the Chuunin Exam Finals, and let his opponent win by disqualification.

"You seem very focused and serious today Naruto-san. Far too focused and serious for someone your age," remarked Temari while leaning against a building with a smirk on her face.

"Temari-san. How are you today? I imagine the weather here in Konoha is much different then what you are use to in Suna," replied Naruto politely since he had no reason to insult the daughter of the Kazekage.

"It is different. In Suna, we have intense skin blistering heat, winds that can kick up the sand to the sky above, and the sand itself...well let's just say there is more then enough of it to go around," said Temari with her smile never leaving her face.

"I'll take your word for it," said Naruto with Temari walking towards him.

"I have heard some interesting rumors about you. I wasn't sure what they say is true and what is made up. It creates an air of mystery around you Naruto-san. And I love a good mystery," replied Temari with Naruto raising an eyebrow at her, but decided to humor the kunoichi.

"So what do you want to know?" asked Naruto while motioning for her to follow him while they talked.

"Well, for starters I heard you were from Konoha, but had a terrible childhood growing up," said Temari since she felt it was the best way for her to approach Naruto, even if it was a sensitive subject.

"It is true. I have suffered during my time in Konoha. My childhood was far from happy. I hear your brother was the same as well and for the same reasons," replied Naruto with Temari nodding while her eyes became sad.

"Yes. My Father wanted to turn my brother into a weapon for Suna. At first, Gaara was spoiled in the hopes of gaining his love, and loyalty so he would fight for our village. But over time, we learned Gaara's seal was barely strong enough to contain Shukaku, and the Biju within him would come out if he slept for even a second. My Father saw Gaara as a flawed weapon after it happened the first time and following that moment...everything changed," replied Temari while Naruto had an idea of what she meant by that.

"So instead of being loved, your brother was hated. Feared," surmised Naruto with Temari nodding while her eyes became sadder.

"My Father hired assassins to kill Gaara. He would say, 'Flawed weapons have no place in Suna or in this family.' when the assassins were asked about the target and why they were going after the Kazekage's son. Not only that, but my Father portrayed Gaara as if he was Shukaku himself in human skin. The sand protecting Gaara didn't exactly make people think differently. All of the children would run away from him. Calling him a monster. Gaara even tried to apologize once to a boy for losing his ball, but the boy practically shoved it back in Gaara's face. It wasn't until our Uncle on my Mother's side of the family tried to kill Gaara did he finally...snapped," explained Temari while Naruto frowned.

"Why would your Uncle try to kill Gaara?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Because my Mother was used in the sacrifice needed to seal Shukaku into Gaara. My Uncle blamed Gaara for her death and kept his resentment at bay for eight long years until finally...the man couldn't take it anymore. When it happened, Gaara was very close to our Uncle, and never would have suspected betrayal from him. But it happened and the end result made Gaara cold. Cruel. Though I don't need to tell you that. You've seen his eyes for yourself," replied Temari with Naruto nodding.

"I have. Your brother is like me in many aspects, yet different due to how we ended up being raised. In the long run, I could have ended up like him. I see myself in Gaara had I gone through such a betrayal of that magnitude," said Naruto with Temari raising a her own eyebrow at this.

"Didn't you with the Sandaime Hokage? Rumor has it you had a falling out with him and two of the Sannin upon coming back here," questioned Temari with Naruto nodding.

"I did in a sense, but this is different. The three you speak of were not my blood. Not my family. Granted Senju Tsunade is technically my distant cousin, but I do not, and will not acknowledge her as family. She has forsaken her Uzumaki blood and dishonored the very principles of the Senju. I do not feel hatred for her. Only pity. When Senju Tsunade dies, her true torment will begin, and she will have no one to blame...but herself," said Naruto calmly yet coldly.

"You assume your family wouldn't have been the same way," said Temari with Naruto stopping and looking at her.

"My Mother never intended for me to be a Jinchuriki. At least not right away. The act of the sealing was forced because someone was trying to cause this village's destruction on the night of my birth. I have it on good authority of the Fire Daimyo himself that both my parents loved each other and loved me until the end. Kyuubi himself confirmed this by showing me his memories of them just before their death," said Naruto while Temari was shocked by this.

"You've...You've actually spoken to your Biju?" asked Temari since she had never heard anything about this happening before in the past.

"Yes. Unlike Gaara's seal, mine is strong enough to keep the Kyuubi's influence at bay, but it doesn't stop me from making a connection with him. I've spent many days forming a bond with my Biju. Sadly, I don't expect Shukaku to do the same given his level of insanity so I would advise Gaara against such an attempt on his part," said Naruto with Temari nodding since she didn't believe he would mislead her about this information.

Naruto maybe a Jinchuriki from another country, but Temari was sure he didn't want to hurt someone like himself with a similar burden. Plus, the Suna kunoichi suspected if Gaara did make such an attempt with Shikaku, the Biju would tear him apart from the inside, and kill her little brother before going on a rampage.

"Could you...fix his seal? I mean, the Uzumaki Clan were renowned for their mastery in the way of sealing so...?" asked Temari with Naruto thinking it over in his head.

'What do you think Kurama? Should I help her brother with his seal?' thought Naruto since he wanted the Biju's opinion on the situation.

_**"By all means. The tighter and stronger the seal that binds Shukaku the better. That damn raccoon never had any sense of self respect as one of the nine Biju. He should be restrained tightly for his past actions,"**_ replied Kurama with anger in his voice.

'Don't be like that Kurama. Would you want him to say the same thing about you if roles were reversed?' thought Naruto with Kurama grumbling.

_**"No. I suppose not. Still, you should tighten Shukaku's seal to shut him out. If only to help the boy sleep at night. All those years without sleep do not help one's sanity," **_said Kurama with Naruto nodding.

"I can take a look at the seal Temari-san. Sadly, I am not an expert Seal Master despite my understanding of seals being quite literally in my blood, but I have been studying the matter in my Father's library. Further, I'm sure I can examine the seal to see where it is weak, and with some careful research make those areas stronger," replied Naruto while making a mental note to have Shadow Clones investigate the study of sealing and maybe even ask Karin to assist in learning the art.

It never hurt to have an extra hand on the matter.

"Thanks. I would really appreciate it. I know my Father wants me to keep my emotional feelings toward Gaara at a minimum, but I can't stand the idea of him in such pain even though he's given as good as he's got. My brother never asked to be made a Jinchuriki or becoming a weapon for Suna. I just...I just want Gaara to have some measure of actual and natural happiness that doesn't involve taking a life needlessly," said Temari, as she felt herself suddenly overcome with a desire to express herself in this matter without it being overly necessary for this "seduction" she was suppose to undertake to get Naruto on Suna's side.

"I understand. As I said, I would help you in this when I can. Now if you will excuse me Temari-san, I am needed elsewhere at the moment," said Naruto before bowing to her politely and walking away from the now happy kunoichi.

'Maybe this mission won't be so bad after all,' thought Temari before Naruto stopped and looked at her.

"Also, I think you should inform your sensei, and siblings that your Father is dead. The Kazekage you serve and is coming here soon is a false one," said Naruto with Temari looking at him in shock.

"W-What? How can you say that? What proof do you have of such a thing has happened to my Father?" asked Temari while looking around and found they were in a more quiet part of Konoha with few people in the area.

"I had Jiraiya of the Sannin look into it with his spy network. Not only that, but one of Orochimaru's own key spies was caught during the Chuunin Exams, and spilled what his Master planned to do in order to get deep within Konoha's walls," replied Naruto with Temari looking shocked by this news.

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner? Why not tell my sensei? We could have stopped it before my Father was assassinated!" questioned Temari with Naruto shaking his head.

"Orochimaru killed your Father shortly after the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries and by the time we got the plan out of the Sannin's spy, your Kazekage was already dead. The snake Sannin is impersonating him so he can manipulate Suna's ninja into going through with his plan to attack Konoha. He needs to act like the Kazekage in order to keep the alliance with his Sound forces intact. After all, if Suna learned its Kazekage were killed, and at the hands of the one the one they allied with...the snake Sannin would find himself in a very tricky situation when the invasion comes along," replied Naruto while giving her a hint as to what she should do next with what he just told her.

"Why are you helping Suna? Why are you doing any of this? What do you gain from it?" asked Temari while Naruto smiled slightly at her.

"I'm helping to fix the error your village made toward Gaara. I'm helping to heal the bond you have with your family. Both you and Kankuro are afraid of Gaara and believe he will kill either of you regardless if he is provoked. Meanwhile, Gaara himself has no one in his life to love him, and will one day die alone in the darkness. People like Gaara. Like us. We should not die that way, much less _live_ that way regardless of what others may think. I am not doing this just for Gaara, but rather I'm doing this for everyone like us, and giving them a chance to achieve happiness in their lonely dark world," replied Naruto before walking off to leave the Suna kunoichi alone with her thoughts.

(Fire Daimyo's Hotel Room)

"So you told the Suna kunoichi what you know about the Kazekage's death. Why? How could you be sure she wouldn't stay the course for the invasion to honor her Father's dying wish?" asked the Fire Daimyo once Naruto came to see him and deliver his report on the matter.

"For one, the Kazekage is her Father. Even if he joined in the alliance with Orochimaru to invade Konoha to destroy the village, it didn't give the Sannin the right to kill the man just to get close to achieve his objective. Besides, the Suna ninja are loyal to their Kage, and they wouldn't dare dream of knowingly follow a fake as well as the one responsible for the real Kage's death," explained Naruto while kneeling before the Fire Daimyo.

"I take it there is more in your reason?" questioned the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding his head once.

"I wanted to prevent needless bloodshed. Konoha's future is already looking grim, even with a sliver of light among the darkness that surrounds the village. There is no need for it to end in violent merciless bloodshed. If Konoha is to fall, it should fall by your word, and your word alone Daimyo-sama. Not Orochimaru. I merely wish to ensure Konoha's future is not taken out of your hands," replied Naruto while the Fire Daimyo nodded though he suspected there was more.

"And Sabaku no Gaara? He is like you correct? Only with a weaker and possibly faulty seal?" questioned the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding.

"Yes on all counts Daimyo-sama. I intend to help Gaara by strengthening his seal and giving him a piece of mind. In doing so, I save the life of someone like myself, and give us strong neighboring allies should we have need of their help in certain matters. All that I do benefits you and Fire Country," replied Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding his head in agreement.

"Agreed. I have spoken to my fellow Daimyo in Wind Country and explained to him the matter regarding Suna to him. After what has happened here, as well as my own personal recommendations, I would have to say his interests will be redirected back to Suna soon enough when the Chuunin Exams are over here. Of course that will only happen if _WE_ can prevent Suna from still joining in the invasion with Orochimaru's Sound ninja," said the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding.

"Hence why I have been trying to assist Suna with some of its problems that have led to this action. By removing these reasons to attack Konoha, as well as expose Orochimaru's hand in killing their Kazekage, Suna will be our ally, and assist Konoha in repelling the invasion rather then assisting in it. If we time everything just right, Orochimaru will die during the invasion, and his forces will be brought down into submission," replied Naruto confidently with the Fire Daimyo nodding.

"Another good point on your part. But remember, Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, and is not so easily defeated. He is the personification of deceit and has been known to slither out of danger when needed. Add to the fact his former sensei is conspiring with him only makes things worse. There is also the X-factor that is Senju Tsunade and her dislike for you Naruto. She may try to attack and you during the invasion among the chaos that will arise from the attack by Orochimaru," explained the Fire Daimyo with Naruto nodding.

"I know. I have been training this entire month in preparation for Orochimaru's attack and Tsunade's eventual assault during it. I won't allow either to succeed. To further that goal, I suggest you have Shizune, and Itachi stand beside you under the pretense of requiring additional ninja protection. It will protect one while making the Uchiha Clan calm down since they have been giving the Itachi a hard time recently regarding his support of me. It will redirect their mental energies into thinking Itachi has earned himself a high standing as a ninja among your military ranks and keep them quiet for a time," said Naruto with the Fire Daimyo nodding since he planned to do that anyway.

"What of Jiraiya of the Sannin? Can he be trusted?" asked the Fire Daimyo with Naruto thinking about the man for a second.

"For the moment, yes he can be trusted. The information about the Sandaime Hokage and Orochimaru working together with this invasion after all these years has shaken his faith in his sensei greatly. I have done all that I can to convince him that what the Sandaime is doing is wrong and must be stopped. He will stop Orochimaru and his forces right outside Konoha's walls. But if you are asking me if he will fight the Sandaime in an actual fight between opponents? My answer to you is an immediate no. He won't fight his old sensei," replied Naruto with the Fire Daimyo letting out a sad sigh at having the most promising of the three Sannin still fall so far with the other two being no better in regards to their own past actions.

One Sannin was a scheming monster who performed inhumane experiments on people.

The other Sannin was a bitter woman and mean drunk who blamed one innocent person for the death of another.

"We'll deal with them when the time is right. Carry out your duties my boy. Crush all who stand in your way," commanded the Fire Daimyo firmly to Naruto who nodded once at the order.

"As you command Daimyo-sama," said Naruto before he left in a swirl of leaves.

"The boy is making great progress," remarked Saito, as he was in the room with the two, and performing his bodyguard duties in protecting the Fire Daimyo.

"I know. But there is still much for him to do and I worry for him. Even now, I feel it isn't right to put so much on one so young, but at the same time I know Naruto is our best bet to fixing this situation," replied the Fire Daimyo with Saito smirking.

"The boy is strong. Like his Father and Mother before him. He has made them proud so far. I do not expect him to fail anytime soon in the coming days," replied Saito with the Fire Daimyo nodding.

"I pray you are right my friend. I pray you are right," said the Fire Daimyo knowing the boy's metal would be tested soon in the coming days.

(Hyuuga Clan Compound-At the Moment)

"A marriage contract? With the demon brat? Him? Out of everyone in Konoha? We did not agree to this Hiashi!" protested a Hyuuga Elder among the Hyuuga Clan, who had always tried to enforce the power of his position within the clan.

"You don't have to agree with this because your authority does not extend that far," said Hiashi calmly though it was clear his temper was running short and thin with the Elders due to their actions in trying to move in on clan matters meant to be handled by the Clan Head.

"According to who?!" demanded the Elder while Hiashi glared at him.

"To me. As well as the laws of this clan. Hinata is _MY _daughter and if I wish to setup an arranged marriage with on Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto I will," said Hiashi with the Elder fuming at him for this.

"That..._boy_ is unstable. A mistake if there ever was one. Even if his current position is highly favorable with the Fire Daimyo, he is still beneath the Hyuuga Clan, and your daughter despite her own low status within the clan. I will not approve of this union. I will appeal this act before the Fire Daimyo himself if I must!" exclaimed the Hyuuga Elder while Hiashi's glare intensified.

"Appeal all you wish. The Fire Daimyo approved it himself. Until a legitimate reason does in fact arises in the future, the arranged marriage between my daughter, and one Uzumaki Naruto is going to stand. I will not tolerate anyone usurping my authority on this clan matter. Am I understood?" declared Hiashi with the Hyuuga Elders grumbling.

None of the people in the room liked this move. Word had spread about this arranged marriage like wildfire throughout the clan. Many in the Branch family were thrilled to know Hinata was going to marry such an influential figure close to the Fire Daimyo and was also part of the ancient Uzumaki Clan. Many Branch family members knew all about the Uzumaki Clan because of the clan's skill with seals being second to none. They had first hoped that with Namikaze Minato becoming the Hokage, as well as marrying one Uzumaki Kushina, the two would and could come up with a way to save the Branch family of the Hyuuga Clan from the oppression that the Cage Bird Seal represented to them.

When the two died and Jiraiya went off to do whatever it was that Jiraiya did outside of Konoha, the hope of the Hyuuga Branch family died. Jiraiya himself didn't really care about the Hyuuga Clan and only entertained the idea of helping them because Minato did after becoming Hokage. But now with Naruto being their son, he would have access to their clan library, everything about seals at his fingertips, and could save the Hyuuga Clan from what could be an inevitable civil war within the clan itself. Of course, the Fire Daimyo's Harbinger would need a reason to even get involved in such a messy affair of another clan.

Hence where Hinata would come into play. The girl hated the Cage Bird Seal. Always have since she first saw it used and didn't like the idea of causing family pain. It had earned the girl the love of the Branch, but the scorn of the Main family. The only true exception among the Branch family was Neji and while many sympathized with the boy over the loss of his Father...they didn't see the need to punish the girl for being unable to defend herself within her own home at the age of three.

If anything, the adults of the clan should be ashamed for letting the incident get that far under their very noses before the kidnapper was caught.

"Hiashi! Hiashi! I must speak with you still on this matter!" exclaimed the Hyuuga Elder while Hiashi sighed and turned around in the hallway to see the older man huffing with much effort toward the Clan Head's direction.

"What is it Father. I am busy," said Hiashi with his Father looking like he ran a mile and it showed just how old the man was that him rushing just a few feet had winded him.

Not surprising since the elderly of the two had long since stopped exercising his muscles in terms of training and was acting more like an old politician.

"This marriage between your _daughter_ and that _boy_. It is a mistake!" said Hiashi's Father with Hiashi himself sighing again.

"And how is it a mistake Father? The boy has a direct line to the Fire Daimyo. When he gets older, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto will be one of the most influential people in all of Fire Country. I would think on a political scale, the Hyuuga Clan would embrace this idea to further our standing. Instead, you reject it. One would think you are not a patriot of Konoha or Fire Country as a whole," replied Hiashi with his Father glaring at him.

"As an Elder of the clan, I _have_ _to_ accept this idea, if only for the political reasons behind it. But I also _despise_ the idea of letting that _thing_ mixing with our own pure Hyuuga Clan blood. He is not worth the _filth_ the Branch family cleans off our clan compound floors everyday and you know it. I don't care if he is the son of the Yondaime or the son of the Uzumaki Clan Heiress. The boy is _garbage_. He should have been killed the night of his birth and I would have done it myself if I had been given the chance!" stated the elder man while Hiashi frowned at this since he saw the slightly panic filled look in his Father's eyes.

"Don't try to hide behind clan lineage and nobility with me Father. I know the _real_ reason you fear the boy and Hinata marrying. You along with the other Hyuuga Elders fear that the boy will one day become a Seal Master like his parents. You _fear_ he will find a way to free the Branch family of the Cage Bird Seal with Hinata influencing him to do it after they marry," remarked Hiashi with his Father's face getting red with anger.

"The Branch family is meant to serve. The Main family rules over the Hyuuga Clan and has since the forming of the clan. The weak have no business being on equal footing as the strong," said Hiashi's Father while Hiashi himself clenched his teeth and an image of his brother manifested in his mind.

Hizashi was far from weak in his mind.

"If that were indeed true Father...then why are you not branded with the Cage Bird Seal for being so weak and filled with fear for the future," remarked Hiashi before walking away from his stunned and angry Father.

(Chuunin Exam Stadium-Day of the Finals)

"You all know the rules here. _I_ am the rules. If I give the order to stop fighting, you stop fighting. If you get out line, I'll put you back in line, and I will do it by force. Are we clear?" said Naruto while looking at the candidates to be Chuunin standing in front of him.

Out of all the candidates here, three Genin were from Suna, and four were from Konoha. The one Gaara killed a month ago to be unlucky participant number eight was dead so he didn't count.

"Yes," said Temari while seeing Gaara and Kankuro nod while the others did too.

In the stands, the Fire Daimyo sat with his fellow Feudal Lords, each looking at Naruto in an appraising fashion. They had heard about what he had done for the boy in taking him in and making sure the blonde could handle himself in the face of adversity. To think that someone so young would be _THE_ personal Harbinger of a Daimyo at Naruto's age was what many would think to be unprecedented. But here the boy currently was. Standing in the middle of the arena as the Head Proctor for the Chuunin Exam Finals, enforcing his own will, and by extension the will of the Fire Daimyo himself.

"That boy is something else my friend," remarked Suna's Wind Daimyo while he saw him addressing the Suna ninja before looking at the ones from Konoha.

"Agreed. Such potential was almost wasted here in Konoha. All that abuse they put that boy through was cruel and inhumane," replied the Fire Daimyo.

"It makes you wonder what our own Shinobi villages are hiding from us with their own Jinchuriki," remarked the Earth Daimyo since he had trusted the Sandaime Tsuchikage with running Iwa without his supervision.

Though given the abuse Naruto suffered in what was suppose to be the most peaceful of the ninja villages, the Earth Daimyo wasn't so sure anymore. In fact, the man decided he would make his own personal inquiry in his ninja village's about the two Jinchuriki who resided there after he returned to his nation.

At the moment, the Sandaime Hokage was preparing to announce the start of the Chuunin Exams with the "Kazekage" sitting in a chair beside him. The two shook hands, greeted each other in a friendly manner, and smiled (though you couldn't tell with the "Kazekage" due to the cloth covering his face) at one another. Of course the Sandaime knew the man sitting next to him wasn't the actual Kazekage, but Orochimaru himself currently in the dead man's robes. They each gave the other a knowing look in the belief their plan would come to fruition and make Konoha great in their own way.

As for Orochimaru, one of the reasons he was going along with this little invasion plan his old sensei came up with was become the next Hokage in the aftermath of the attack. Of course, there would be opposition to this violent transition, which was one the Sannin had planned to knock down key targets, and key people within Konoha who would no doubt oppose his future rule over. From certain ninja to various people among the clans in Konoha, who knew just how vile Orochimaru truly was, and would not support him as the new Hokage when the dust cleared with him being victorious over his enemies. Once those individuals were removed, their successors would fall in line, and so would their clans once they realized resistance was futile.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to present to you this years Chuunin Exams. Let the matches begin!" exclaimed the Sandaime with the crowd cheering.

"It should be me down there. I should be fighting and advancing in rank!" exclaimed Sasuke angrily while Kakashi put a hand on his student's shoulder.

"Calm down Sasuke. You'll get your chance against next time," said Kakashi while he was reading his Icha Icha Paradise book.

"I don't want a 'next time' Kakashi-sensei. I want my time to be _now_!" demanded Sasuke with Kakashi sighing and eyeing his student slightly to see the Uchiha scowling heavily.

"We can't always get what we want Sasuke. We just have to deal with the cards dealt to us," advised Kakashi with the Jounin seeing Sasuke scowling further.

"If that were true, the loser down there wouldn't be the Head Proctor," remarked Sasuke with Kakashi sighing again.

'One day soon Sasuke, you will learn that not everything can be handed to you, and must be earned through hard work. Your pride is your biggest weakness here. Regardless of what your Father may tell you, the Uchiha Clan is not invincible. That kind of thinking can get you killed,' thought Kakashi while wishing his situation with Sasuke wasn't such a pain in the ass to keep the boy from jumping off the handle because he wasn't chosen for something important at every turn.

"Sabaku no Temari VS Nara Shikamaru. Ready? Fight!" exclaimed Naruto with the two getting ready for a fight.

Well...Temari was anyway.

"Troublesome. Not only do I have to fight first, but I have to fight a girl," said Shikamaru to himself, which made Temari angry at the fact he wasn't taking her seriously because of her gender.

'I am going to mess him up for that!' thought Temari angrily, as she decided to go for the very direct approach here, and use her still folded fan as a club to smack the Nara down into the ground.

'Oh crap,' thought Shikamaru, as his eyes widened in shock, and horror at seeing that look in Temari's eyes that his own Mother had when his Father did something stupid to tick her off.

"Come back here and take your beating like a man!" exclaimed Temari, as she saw him moving pretty fast for a usually lazy bum.

"I am taking my beating like man. A man doesn't take beatings from angry women. He runs from them for as long as possible. Troublesome woman," mumbled Shikamaru, but Temari heard him all the same, and got even angrier.

"Troublesome woman? I'm a troublesome woman?! I'll give you a troublesome woman! Kamaitachi no Jutsu!'" exclaimed Temari before unleashing her fury in a powerful Wind Jutsu that send Shikamaru flying into the wall behind him.

"Ow. She wins. I give up," mumbled Shikamaru before he slowly fell off the wall and his body imprint for the slightly softer (though not by much) ground.

"Winner! Sabaku no Temari!" exclaimed Naruto with most of the crowd booing at how quickly the match ended, Shikamaru for losing, and Temari for winning.

'Call me troublesome will you,' thought Temari before giving Naruto a wink and walked away.

In the stands, a certain Hyuuga girl frowned.

"Aburame Shino VS Sabaku no Kankuro. Both combatants please come down," said Naruto while the puppet user glanced at Shino before looking at his siblings.

"Proctor I forfeit!" declared Kankuro with Shino narrowing his eyes at him.

'He's saving his strength for something later. But what?' thought Shino curiously while Naruto announced Kankuro lost by forfeit and the winner was the Aburame.

"Smart move brother," commented Temari with Kankuro nodding since the siblings and Baki had a major talk following the blonde kunoichi's talk with Naruto about their Father and Kazekage being a fake.

Baki had sent word to one of his most trusted ninja back un Suna to investigate the claim by having one of the ninja patrols move in the area where the coordinates (given to them by Naruto though they could not prove it) for where the Kazekage's body was actually located. Sure enough upon getting there, the man's body was found, and stripped of his Kazekage robes. By this point, the impersonator of the Kazekage, who was Orochimaru had already left Suna for Konoha under the guise to see the Suna siblings compete in the Chuunin Exam Finals, and prepare the final stages of his invasion plan in secret from within Konoha itself. As things stood, news went to all trusted Jounin, and Chuunin of Suna partaking in the attack on Konoha about what happened to the actual Kazekage. Following that, Baki had paid a visit to Naruto in secret the night prior to explain what was going on, and that Suna was once again an ally with Konoha to fight Orochimaru along with the Sannin's Sound ninja.

As for Naruto, he accepted Baki's announcement of this news well, and told the Suna Jounin that the Fire Daimyo would be speaking to his counterpart in Wind to ensure that Suna was not denied anymore missions it needed to survive financially. In fact, with the way things were heading, Naruto hinted that the Fire Daimyo might even decide to send a few missions Suna's way, and all of them would be high ranking high paying jobs too that Suna would be best suited for.

Of course, this was all on the contingent that Suna crushed Sound during the attack, and that Orochimaru was crushed. Whether the Sannin escaped with his forces or not wasn't hinged on Suna getting those high paying missions from the Fire Daimyo in the future, but Naruto also hinted that to Baki that it couldn't hurt to go that "extra mile" in killing the snake that had been a thorn in everyone's side since the day he went rogue. Even if Suna ninja didn't personally kill Orochimaru, the fact they crippled his forces would be more then enough to get clients interested in them.

Naturally, Baki understood completely with word spreading through the ranks of Suna to kill the snake Sannin Orochimaru on sight during the attack if they encounter him. No exceptions.

Gaara had a look on his face like his birthday had come early and someone had given him a pile of ninja to kill as a present when he heard the news.

"For what is soon to come, I'll need all my chakra, and skills in the fighting," whispered Kankuro while Gaara was looking eager to fight now.

"Akimichi Choji VS Rock Lee. Will both contestants please come down," said Naruto with both fighters descending to the arena floor.

Both had proven their stuff against what remained of their teams during the Preliminaries a month ago when facing other Konoha ninja. Ino fought against Kiba with the latter of the two winning because of Akamaru sneaking up behind the girl when she was about to use her family's Mind Transfer Jutsu before peeing on the platinum blonde's leg. Ino had shriek in anger, complaining about being peed on and had forfeit so she could head to the nearest bathroom or shower to wash off the dog's urine from her leg. Her sensei Asuma just sighed heavily in embarrassment and so did fellow teammates groaning over what she did.

Choji had been able to handle himself well against Tenten. The Akimichi had not given the kunoichi the time to get her weapons ready to launch at him and the Body Expansion Jutsu to turn into a giant human wrecking. As such, when Tenten tried to launch an attack against Choji, she was hit hard by the massive ball of flesh, which sent her to the wall, and knocked the kunoichi out cold.

Naturally, Lee took offense to this loss, and vowed to regain Tenten's lost honor with his Flames of Youth should he fight Choji in the Finals. Tenten herself groaned when she heard this after waking up and smacked Lee upside the head before shaking him in a comical yet violent fashion. Tenten kept going on about how she was not a damsel in distress, didn't need to be saved like one, and intended to beat Lee into the ground when cleared by the medics.

And on a side note for Lee, he got more running done for the first week following that little declaration by Tenten then he had in two months prior. Who knew being chased by an angry kunoichi with a massive club could be so beneficial to training?

"Yosh! I shall win this match in honor of my teammate you defeated a month ago! My Flames of Youth will not be stopped!" declared Lee passionately while Tenten slapped her head in embarrassment.

"Why do I have to be the one with the crazy teammate?" asked Tenten to herself while Gai let out a hearty laugh next to her.

"Lee is just being Lee my student. Support him in his fight. That is what teammates do," said Gai with Tenten glaring at him between her fingers.

'If only I hadn't lost in the Preliminaries,' thought Tenten while inwardly crying anime tears inside knowing this was going to be awhile before her sensei and teammate let this go.

If at all.

"Ready? Fight!" exclaimed Naruto while Lee shot forward at high speed with the mission being to win this fight quickly yet gracefully like Gai-sensei taught him.

"Body Expansion Jutsu!" exclaimed Choji since he knew Lee was going to charge in right away given his fighting stance and tensing legs.

As expected, the blow hit Choji hard, but the massive body expansion as the name of the Jutsu implied, the increased mass of the boy was able to absorb most of the blow itself. It still hurt! But not as much as it would have without the Jutsu being done prior to the hit. As for Choji, he went bouncing back, but quickly recovered before going into a roll, and charging toward Lee head on. Lee seeing this, quickly moved out of the way, waiting for Choji to reverse his direction, and attack again in his giant boulder like form.

To Lee's surprise, Choji bounced himself into the air, returned to normal size, and then proceeded to make his entire right arm become huge before slamming it down with a mighty _"CRASH!"_ that destroyed the landscape in the process. Lee was able to escape of course, but he wasn't about to charge in without assessing his opponent's action, and dodged the giant moving arm heading his way. After dodging two more additional strikes by the Akimichi's giant right arm, Lee surprised Choji by jumping on top of it, then he rushed forward, and with a yell jump kicked the big boned boy right in the face. The hit itself sent Choji flying back, hitting the ground, and bouncing several times before his body impacted against the stadium wall.

The poor boy was down and out.

"Winner: Rock Lee!" exclaimed Naruto with the crowd cheering at such a display of skill by both Leaf Genin.

In the Kage Booth, the Sandaime Hokage glared at Naruto despite the fact the boy was ignoring it, and him to that extent before glancing over at Orochimaru under the disguise of the Kazekage. The time was almost upon them. Soon Konoha would be reborn through the chaos they created in this coming battle. Suna would be disgraced for being seen as backstabbers of their allies, Hiruzen's own successor of his choosing was ironically his very killer in Orochimaru, and soon the Fire Daimyo would be forced to see things as they were meant to be seen. Once secretly taken away through it all, Yamanaka Fu would do a bit of mental manipulation on the Feudal Lord's mind before sending him back to his palace after stripping Naruto of the man's protection. Once that happened, the boy could be turned into a proper weapon with Jiraiya's help with some seals, and other means to turning Naruto into an obedient yet dumb weapon.

"Its almost time my student," whispered Hiruzen with Orochimaru nodding while he was salivating inside at the idea of taking over Konoha while becoming Hokage and gaining a few test subjects with the Sharingan in them.

"Indeed sensei. Soon we will get what is coming to us," replied Orochimaru since he had plans for Naruto and Sasuke due to their own powers as well as bloodlines.

"Will both Sabaku no Gaara and Sabaku no Temari come down," said Naruto with Gaara doing that, but Temari not moving an inch.

"I forfeit!" exclaimed Temari since she didn't want to fight Gaara and needed to conserve strength for the invasion.

"Winner by forfeit is Sabaku no Gaara!" exclaimed Naruto while the crowd booed the Suna kunoichi since they wanted to see her get hurt.

'Now!' thought Hiruzen before he nodded to Orochimaru, who in turn gave the signal one of his Sound ninja given an Konoha ANBU uniform to make it easier to move within the stadium in order to get into position.

Kabuto was suppose to do this part, but with his capture after the Preliminaries started, and his detainment being so tight that not even the Sandaime Hokage could help without it raising suspicion. The Fire Daimyo had heard of the young boy being a possible spy for Sound and had ordered Kabuto be held in highest security based cell in Konoha. The man had also ordered that anyone being ordered to set Kabuto free or be transferred to another cell by anyone were going against the Feudal Lord's wishes and thus would be arrested for treason against Fire Country as a whole. This meant that the Hokage could not tell his ANBU watching over Kabuto to let him out or transfer the boy to a new less secure cell in order to provide an escape needed to return to Orochimaru's side. Not only that, but the Hokage was sure any kind of jail break would have earned him the Fire Daimyo's wrath for being incompetent in his job. Possibly ordering the elderly man to step down before the Chuunin Exams and be replaced with someone else of the Feudal Lord's choosing. Not that it mattered since in a matter of moments, the trap would be sprung, and the Fire Daimyo would soon learn what it meant to cross "The Professor" of Konoha.

Soon after the signal was given, the Genjutsu fell upon the stadium in the form of white feathers that started putting people to sleep. The civilians fell asleep easily, too stunned in awe, and stupidity to realize they were being put in a trap. An explosion rang out in the Kage Booth, as the staged fight was about to happen, and Konoha ninja were set to do battle with Suna as well as Sound.

Only when the trap got to that part, things turned out differently, and not for the better if you were from Sound. Suna's forces knew who the sleeper agents from Sound were prior to the attack, and struck out as such against their supposed allies for this mission. Konoha was also surprised to see so many Suna ninja in the stadium and even more surprised to see them fighting against Sound ninja instead of with them. Several of the Konoha ninja in the stadium had been informed of the invasion by Hiruzen and how Suna was allying with Sound. Hiruzen had tried to play it off that the trap being sprung by Orochimaru was going to backfire in his face by using that trap against the Sannin.

Only to see it did indeed backfire in more then one way.

Several Suna ninja had informed the more confused and wary Konoha ninja about how their Kazekage had been killed by Orochimaru in order to impersonate the man so he could get close to the Hokage. An action they neither condoned or were going to tolerate anytime soon while intending to make the Sannin's treachery be his undoing. As this was going on, the secret army of samurai of the Fire Daimyo had smuggled in were joining the battle, and confirmed what the Suna ninja had told them. As such, the samurai had told them to obey the Fire Daimyo in not only repelling Sound, but assisting Suna ninja in fighting them, and there would be severe consequences for any who disobeyed.

As for the forces _outside_ of Konoha's walls, Jiraiya was using his small army of large Toads the size of horses in battle armor to cut down the large pockets of Sound ninja in position to strike. Once the various Suna Summoning teams took down the walls with their temporary Snake Summoning Scrolls Orochimaru had provided them, the army of Sound ninja would swarm in, kill everyone in sight wearing a Konoha headband, and any of the "specially assigned" targets made known to them.

Jiraiya's ambush on them put the kibosh on that.

'To think you would go so far as to leave scars on this village before you died sensei. Has your mind gone that far off the reservation? As your Will of Fire been that corrupted? Have I been corrupted by your way of doing things? Thinking what you think and not what _I _think?' thought Jiraiya, as he had been reflecting on his past actions since Naruto had help bring several disturbing things to his attention, and made him do _a lot_ of soul searching.

The Toads had been a big help there too when he reverse summoned himself there to seek their guidance...after beating him almost within an inch of his life.

_You need to realize your shame Jiraiya. Minato would not have wanted his son to suffer for the glory of the village. He wanted both and it was his naive selfishness that caused his only child to suffer for most of his childhood. Remind yourself of him and what he wanted for his son before you listen to an old monkey with delusions of grandeur mixed with greed and lust for power not his own to command!_

The Toads had given Jiraiya this once and _only once_ in a lifetime only chance at possible redemption for himself. If he fucked it up and betrayed Naruto again for whatever stupid reason he came up with...the Toads were going to fuck him up.

'Now I can only hope Tsunade can be reached. The death of Dan, Nawaki, and Kushina really hurt the woman. The last one only gave her an easy target to lash out in the form of Naruto. I'll admit, I was the same way for a time, but now...now I know better, and damn do I feel stupid for letting all those years go to waste,' thought Jiraiya while crushing the last group of Sound ninja while seeing the Suna ninja arrive and surrender the temporary Snake Summoning Scrolls to him.

He would need to look into these things later.

(Konoha Stadium)

Naruto cut down a nearby Sound ninja with his sword. This was the twentieth death by his hands so far since this invasion started. In the stands, Itachi, Shizune, and Saito were protecting the Fire Daimyo along with several other Daimyos from harm. Knowing they were holding their own in a tight knit group helped Naruto focus more on the task in front of him. Cutting down one Sound ninja after the next with his sword, using one hand signs before slamming onto the ground to hit several with a Stone Spikes Jutsu that impaled his targets. Throwing kunai at several in their blind spots. Saving a nearby Jounin from being hit in the back despite the fact that same Jounin might have had a hand in his suffering even if the blonde couldn't remember or recognize the face of the Jounin he saved.

Suddenly, Naruto's senses alerted him to someone from behind, and dodged just in time to avoid a punch aimed at his face. Leaping back via a hand stand, Naruto saw the fist aimed at him belong to one Senju Tsunade, and it was clear her attempt to hit him was no accident. The woman was out for blood. His blood in fact.

Apparently, from what Naruto had learned, the woman forced herself to get over the fear of the crimson liquid that all humans, and most organic creatures on this planet had in their bodies. Tsunade knew that sooner or later she would have to confront her fear, if only to get closer enough to kill Naruto, and prevent him from using it against her.

Regardless if he knew the weakness or not.

"Hold still brat!" exclaimed Tsunade while glaring heavily at Naruto.

"Why? So you can kill me? My Mother would be so _thrilled_ to know you're trying to kill her only child," remarked Naruto with heavy sarcasm.

"You are unworthy of being Kushina's son. Any child who kills their own Mother on the night of their own birth doesn't deserve to live!" countered Tsunade with a madness in her eyes now that made Naruto's eyes narrow.

Something was wrong here. The woman's eyes were slightly glazed. An almost..._hypnotic_ form of suggestion in them. An influence not her own was in those eyes. Something that was making her go against her actual self and principles.

Could Tsunade be...under a Genjutsu of some kind? But how? And by who?

"Do you really believe that line of thinking Tsunade? Or did someone quietly plant that suggestion in your head?" asked Naruto while leaping back while the woman became angry and tried to smash him to pieces with her fists.

The madness in her eyes getting stronger.

"Shut up! I don't have to answer a murderer like you!" exclaimed Tsunade while she kept trying to hit him with one of her Super Punches.

"And I don't have to be judged by a woman who would easily betray her Grandfather and Grandmother in such a profound way by killing a member of their family. Or have you forgotten your Grandmother was an Uzumaki? That the Senju were the cousins of the Uzumaki Clan? I didn't take you to have the mind set of an Uchiha!" Naruto spat back while ducking under one of her punches when she got close and landed a punch of his own into her gut with enough force behind it to send the woman skidding back.

"You dare accuse me of being like the Uchiha! The Uchiha are scum. Betrayers! They would sooner kill each other if it meant a path to power!" exclaimed Tsunade while the madness in her to seemed to shift, turn on itself, and Naruto saw a conflict within her even when she tried to keep fighting.

"And how is your willingness to betray your kin simply because of something that was not even or the Kyuubi's fault any better?! What do you think your _Grandparents_ would say if they saw you now? Saw the way you acted toward me? How you left me in the care of bigots and hate filled morons?! They would be _ashamed you_!" exclaimed Naruto, as he got inside her guard one more time, kneed the woman in the stomach before head butting her hard, and sent Tsunade flying back with a dazed look.

_Kill Uzumaki Naruto. He took Kushina from you. Kill him in the name of justice!_

'What? What was that?' thought Tsunade while she struggled to focus and wondered if she was hearing things.

'Kurama, can you see it. She's not herself,' thought Naruto with the fox in him nodding.

_**"Agreed. She is under a powerful Genjutsu. One that attacks the mind and turns the person against those they would normally love. That look is similar to...I don't believe it!"**_ exclaimed Kurama while Naruto frowned.

'What? What is it?' thought Naruto with the fox growling in anger.

_**"I know that look anywhere. That look Tsunade is sporting is similar to my own when I was influenced by the Sharingan! AN UCHIHA!"**_ roared Kurama in anger.

'An Uchiha? Meaning...the Sharingan was involved. But...why would someone do that to her? Who would do that to her. Who _could_ do that to her?' thought Naruto with Kurama growling heavier in anger.

_**"The list is short. All of who are in the Uchiha Clan. Madara could do it of course, but I doubt he ever got close enough to Tsunade if he is still alive. There is also the masked ninja claiming to be him. It could also be any single person within the Uchiha Clan. Even Uchiha Itachi,"**_ said Kurama with Naruto frowning.

'Itachi wouldn't do that to us. He may have the Sharingan and is an Uchiha, but the man is not like that,' thought Naruto with Kurama reluctantly nodding.

_**"For an Uchiha, he is indeed a different cut above the rest. A rather bright light in a rather dark clan like the Uchiha. Still, it doesn't mean you should not ask him about this further once we have detained the Genjutsu influenced Senju here. As much as I would like to see her get dragged through the mud figuratively and literally, I would only wish it provided her actions were her own,"**_ said Kurama since he knew it would be like blaming him for the entire attack on Konoha after being ripped out of Kushina by the masked Uchiha before the Sharingan Eye made him go on a rampage.

'Agreed,' thought Naruto before refocusing on Tsunade, as the woman clutched her head in pain, and it was clear his head butting had weakened the Genjutsu's hold on her mind.

"I'm...I'm not like the Uchiha. I'm not! Grandfather...Grandmother...they would be on my side. Wouldn't you?" mumbled Tsunade to herself before she screamed out and fell to the ground while clutching her head in pain.

_**"It seems you were correct. She is in pain. The Genjutsu her mind is suffering from has been weakened to make her question the actions taken against you in the past. You need to knock her out and get the woman out of here,"**_ said Kurama knowing that this woman would be a target if left alone here on the battlefield.

Moving swiftly, Naruto hit Tsunade with a chop to the back of her neck, and quickly got her to where the Fire Daimyo was being protected. At first, the Fire Daimyo was unsure of why Naruto brought the woman to him, but a brief explanation of what he saw made the Feudal Lord understand while Itachi frowned, and told those around him that he knew who could have put Tsunade under such a Genjutsu.

Uchiha Shisui

"I will want this dealt with accordingly Itachi. As one of your first duties as the new Hokage of Konoha when this invasion is over," ordered the Fire Daimyo while Itachi nodded knowing he would want answers too.

(With Naruto)

"Enjoying yourself I see," commented Naruto to Gaara while he unleashed his fury on the Sound ninja coming after him.

"I can't complain Naruto-san. Mother is actually happy right now with the chaos of battle surrounding us," said Gaara since Shukaku was indeed quite happy at this moment in its vessel killing so many Sound ninja.

"Glad I could make such a thing reality," replied Naruto before he shifted from using his sword to bo-staff and began smashing people's skulls in.

"My sister is interested in you," remarked Gaara offhandedly while Naruto smirked since he figured as much.

"Gaara! You weren't suppose to tell him!" exclaimed Temari while looking away from the two while blushing at her little brother's bluntness on the subject.

Why couldn't it be Kankuro who told him? At least she could beat _him _up for being an idiot.

"I thought he should know. You weren't exactly forthcoming with your intentions when you first spoke to him," said Gaara while Kankuro snickered at Temari's embarrassed and red face.

"WOMEN DON'T DO THAT RIGHT AWAY!" yelled Temari before lashing out at a group of Sound ninja with her fan and Wind Jutsus that sent them colliding into the arena wall with death being instant upon impact.

"Really? Kankuro seems to think differently when I questioned him on the matter about you courting the Namikaze," replied Gaara while Kankuro looked scared and nervous with Temari glowering at the Puppet Master.

"When this is over Kankuro, I am going to _kick_..._your_..._ass_!" exclaimed Temari while she attacked decisively following each of those last three words spoken.

'I almost wish Gaara would go psycho and kill me out of spite,' thought Kankuro while he cried anime tears and weeping for his life.

His sister was going to beat him up so badly when this was over.

'What do you think Kurama?' thought Naruto with Kurama snorting at this.

_**"If there is one thing I will **__**never**__** understand, it is the females of your species. I didn't understand Mito or Kushina back then and I don't understand any of them now"**_ said Kurama with Naruto not disagreeing with him.

Elsewhere, Uchiha Sasuke was fighting the enemy Sound ninja around him with Kakashi while Sakura did her best to fight when she did. Though it was quite clear the girl had to increase her training regiment and spend time learning from her sensei in various ninja fields. Since her team had been kicked out the Chuunin Exams due to Sasuke (though she would never admit it), the girl had spent most her time trying to getting Sasuke's attention over actual training. Something that Kakashi knew he would have to eventually stamp out of her...provided they all lived through this.

Back to Sasuke, the Uchiha himself was scowling since he saw Naruto still in the center of the arena, fighting wave after wave of Sound ninja heading his way. It made the boy's pride take a major hit since he didn't think Naruto was worth the effort of so many ninja to kill. Why should they go after the blonde in the first place? He was a nobody. It didn't matter if Naruto was the Yondaime's son! The man was Hokage for a short time and died sealing the Biju into his worthless offspring, who only got recognition because of the so called abuse suffered while in Konoha. Big deal! The Uchiha had a massive history that descended to the time of the Warring Clans Era. Even IF Naruto was half Uzumaki, it did not mean anything to Sasuke, and apparently the majority of Konoha too if their opinion of the blonde was anything to go by.

As the more Sasuke thought about it, the angrier he became at Naruto for being so strong, to have the support, and respect of his big brother Itachi. Sasuke had longed for the day where recognition from Itachi would mean he was no longer in his older brother's shadow in front of the entire Uchiha Clan. Their Father would go on and on about "Itachi this!" and "Itachi that!" while giving Sasuke a bare minimum of support. It was only after Itachi was given the assignment to train and watch over the Yondaime's son by the Fire Daimyo himself did the Uchiha Clan Head focus on his youngest more. At first, Sasuke was very happy that his Father was focusing on him more, and praising his youngest for doing so well.

That of course changed after Wave when Sasuke came to realize that his Father was only doing it because Itachi wasn't around to soak up the praise. Sasuke realized that if Itachi had stayed in Konoha, stayed to do missions for the Hokage, their Father would keep going on about Itachi, praising the eldest of his two sons, and the youngest would be left in older brother's shadow.

'That blonde is nothing! A waste of Itachi's time. Itachi should have been training me! Not that blonde fool. Me!' thought Sasuke angrily before stabbing one Sound ninja in the head with a kunai.

"Focus Sasuke! I can sense your emotions clearly. Focus on the enemy," said Kakashi while he moved closer to Gai and repel those aimed at his "rival" of sorts.

'Yes. Focus on my enemy,' thought Sasuke while his eyes moved from the Sound ninja around him to Naruto, who was besting the last of them, and focused on talking to the Suna siblings.

It was time to test out his new Jutsu that Kakashi had him learn this past month.

(With Naruto)

The sudden sound of birds chirping got Naruto's attention long before he turned around in time to see Sasuke charging at him with a fist filled with lightning. In the stands behind the Uchiha, the boy's sensei had turned his head to look on in shock, and horror at Sasuke now with his Sharingan Eyes active. Had the silver haired man looked at Sasuke's eyes, he would see they were blazing with jealousy, and hatred for Naruto while aiming this specific Jutsu at the Namikaze.

'So the little green monster in Itachi's little brother has finally revealed itself. Figures it would be now of all times,' thought Naruto while Kurama growled inside his head.

_**"I knew it! I knew it! We went to Wave to save your Father's last remaining student and his Genin team simply because Itachi's little brother was on it. Only for us to save a power hungry fool, who wants to remove you, and by extension ME from this world simply because his overinflated ego can't handle the fact someone is better then him!"**_ exclaimed Kurama angrily while giving Naruto a "I told you so!" look.

'I know Kurama, but you know I owed Itachi a lot, and I was paying him back in Wave by helping him with his little brother. Its not his fault Sasuke is a total asshole,' thought Naruto with Kurama growling a little louder.

_**"No. I suppose not. Still, I think its time you emphasized your own superiority over this Uchiha a bit more by making him regret coming at you with this little ball of lightning in his hand,"**_ remarked Kurama with Naruto nodding and focusing on Sasuke getting closer with the intent of running his right hand through the blonde's chest.

"Wind Style: Tempest Shield!" exclaimed Naruto before going through one handed hand signs before having the back of his index and middle finger pointing upward.

The end result was a massive violent wind forming around him like a shield similar to the Hyuuga's Kaiten, but instead of spinning around physically to cause the rotation, Naruto used his wind affinity to spin the wind itself around him from different directions. It was actually like creating a Rasengan more then a Kaiten, but the difference was the wind was spinning around his form in a protective shield like manner.

And it was perfect a case like this when fighting against an attack like the one due to the literal nature of the attack Sasuke was using since wind was stronger then lightning. Not that Sasuke noticed this or even cared. The Uchiha thought he was invincible due to his clan being so old and powerful. That he could simply overpower it or that an Uchiha like himself was immune to the rules regarding the elements. Once the lightning filled hand met the shield of wind spinning around Naruto, the fist was totally destroyed, and upon the two Jutsus ending left Sasuke without a hand.

Just a nice cauterized (from the residual lightning and even the wind moving so fast to generate heat) stump of a wrist. There wasn't even a blood stain on the ground or any type of remains that was once Sasuke's hand. It took Sasuke a good 10 seconds to realize his hand was gone before screaming out in pain and falling to his knees because of it.

The screams from the Uchiha were music to Kurama's ears and Naruto despite not having any ill will toward Sasuke (namely for Itachi's sake) could only look on at the boy with pity. The punishment for attacking a member of the Fire Daimyo's forces was a heavy penalty, as it was seen as an attack on the Fire Daimyo himself, and was not tolerated in the slightest. Add to the fact it was a Konoha ninja, regardless of the rank, it was an act of treason, and would only be the final nail on the coffin that was Sasuke's short life.

'Poor Itachi. Now he will have to figure out how to save his little brother from the Fire Daimyo though I doubt it will be that simple. Or easy,' thought Naruto before knocking the Uchiha out cold with a strike to the head with his bo-staff.

"You didn't kill him," remarked Gaara while Naruto smirked at the confused Jinchuriki.

"Death at this point for him would be too merciful. Trust me. The shame his actions will bring upon his clan will make him wish for death," replied Naruto before he picked up the Uchiha and dropped the boy off in front of Itachi and Shizune.

"Damn it Sasuke. Just like our Father. Always hating others who are stronger then you," remarked Itachi while sighing heavily at his foolish brother's unconscious form since he had seen what Sasuke had done.

"I'll leave him here with you. Right now, I have to stop a false martyr make himself out to be a hero," replied Naruto while making a Shadow Clone and have it go to a corner of the stadium where a special parcel had been placed secretly under a Genjutsu for this.

It was time to expose the monkey and the snake for the cowards they truly were in life.

(With the Sandaime and Orochimaru)

The Hokage and his prized former student had been fighting for some time during the invasion, as they had secretly planned from the start. The overall plan of making Konoha great again revolved around the Sandaime Hokage's patriotic act of heroism in repelling his enemy, dying an honorable death at the hands of Orochimaru, and in his last act as a wonderful Hokage of Konoha...forgive the Sannin for his betrayals. Forgive his former student and in one last decree, he would make Orochimaru the next Hokage to further enforce his forgiving nature to ensure peace could follow the near destruction of the Leaf village. That Orochimaru would be able to protect Konoha from his new position and be able to make the village stronger with his brilliant mind.

Orochimaru for his part would play the grieving student of course, fooling both Jiraiya, and Tsunade with his act of having a revelation over his past actions. It would take some time and a bit of convincing, but Orochimaru was sure he could get them to forgive his actions in killing the Sandaime. Going so far as to name Tsunade and Jiraiya his advisors while kicking Sarutobi's old teammates out in the process, providing key pieces of harsh evidence _conveniently_ found of them doing things against the Hokage's back, but with plans to assist Danzo in the overthrowing of the Sandaime. With many on the Councils giving Konoha and Fire Country as a whole a mean black eye due to their actions against the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, it wouldn't be that hard on the Sannin's part to succeed in kicking many of the old (some quite literally) guard out of their seats of power.

And onto the executioners block.

By the time everything calmed down, Orochimaru would have the loyalty of Konoha majority, Danzo's Root since he was once a member of it himself, and manipulate things where an Uchiha dies on a mission before acquiring one of their eyes to have transplanted into his own like Hatake Kakashi. With his ability to jump from body to body, it would go a lot easier in perfecting his research with such a Dojutsu under his command, and could easily transplant it into each new body.

That had been the plan _at the time_. But now?

Now things had changed. The plan was imploding from the inside with the Sound ninja below taking heavy losses against Konoha and Suna ninja. Evidence, circumstantial as it maybe in their conspiracy that they could do to salvage it was to fight each other so they could make the people believe in giving them a clean slate. One given upon death of the Hokage and the other upon killing said Hokage of Konoha.

"Its time Orochimaru. Let's see if you can defeat your old Master in battle," remarked Hiruzen with a smirk on his face that Orochimaru mimicked.

"As you are now sensei, it won't be too much of an issue for me. Had we faced each other 10 years ago, perhaps I would be concerned, but while you have aged, and lived in such an old body...I have never felt younger," replied Orochimaru while bringing about the Edo Tensei to summon the three Hokages to the forefront of battle.

Only to get two out of the three Hokages with the third coffin collapsing.

It may have cost Orochimaru two of his subordinates, but he thought it was worth it, and the two that were used to bring about the return of two of the three Hokages were mere underlings. No real value. The third one was the same as the other two, but why the third coffin didn't work was a bit confusing to the snake Sannin.

Oh well. Summoning two out of three Hokages back to the land of the living wasn't bad. Not perfect! But still pretty good.

"We are alive? How?" asked Senju Hashirama while his brother Tobirama looked behind him to see Orochimaru.

"He summoned us," remarked Tobirama while seeing the Sannin grinning.

"Your student. _My _sensei wants to die a warrior's death. What better way to die then to be slain by his two predecessors?" replied Orochimaru while grinning at Hiruzen since this was what they planned for their fight.

"It seems even after our time in this world is over, there is still conflict, and war between the different nations," remarked Tobirama with a sigh before hearing a laugh coming from the third coffin before the front was kicked out and a blonde figure stepped out.

'The Jutsu failed! How did the Yondaime come out of it?' thought Orochimaru since he only saw a sliver of blonde hair before seeing the figure get out of the coffin and saw the Sandaime scowling.

The blonde haired figure in question wasn't the Yondaime Hokage at all! Rather...it was his son Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.

"Its hardly a war between nations Tobirama-sama. More like the ambitions of the greedy, the cruel, and the stupid. With these two bakas here at the heart of it in the very village you and your brother founded," said Naruto with Orochimaru looking shocked, confused, and angry at seeing the brat here while Hiruzen just looked angry.

"What do you mean young one?" asked Tobirama curiously at the boy.

"Don't listen to him! He seeks to destroy the village from within! Already he has turned the Fire Daimyo against Konoha with his lies!" exclaimed Hiruzen in the hopes it would make his two predecessors think twice before listening to Naruto.

"You did that yourself! After all, it was through you that the Uzumaki Clan is no longer recognized in Konoha's history books as one of the key clans of the world much less an important one in this village," countered Naruto while standing in-between the first two Hokages and the Sandaime.

"What? Is this true Hiruzen?" asked Hashirama while Hiruzen scowled at Naruto.

"Of course it is. He even told people in Konoha about the Kyuubi being sealed inside of me by my own Father. Minus the fact my Father was the Yondaime Hokage at the time. He even gave the one pale faced child molester behind you that is Orochimaru access to the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing to bring you two back from the dead," replied Naruto with Orochimaru scowling at the insult.

"What? Mito's clan is not in Konoha's history books? What about their sealing skills? The Whirlpool symbol on the vests of the Jounin as a sign of friendship? Of our alliance?" asked Hashirama while Naruto raising an eyebrow at the Jounin vest part.

"No. Nothing. I only learned about my clan through the Fire Daimyo and only because he knew my Mother, who was the previous Jinchuriki before me," remarked Naruto with the two Hokages looking shocked by this.

"So your Mother took over for Mito. But what about the Uzumaki Clan? Aren't they still around?" asked Hashirama while Naruto shook his head.

"Officially, the Uzumaki Clan has been declared close to near extinction since the end of the Second Shinobi War. They scattered throughout the Elemental Countries. I found one of them a short while ago and she is safe," answered Naruto while Hashirama looked like his heart was about to break.

"You mentioned these two here were apart of something connected to greed, cruelty, and stupidity. Explain that to us," said Tobirama while he locked eyes with Hiruzen to see the man was not able to look back.

"As much as I would like for the boy to reveal things to you, I think it would be best if we continue on with what needs to be done," remarked Orochimaru with sealing tags in his hands.

"Why? Afraid to boast your so called brilliant plan to the past Hokages? Is it because the said plan is blowing up in your face beyond this barrier? Because you don't want them to hear how your sensei plotted to turn me into a submissive weapon and spit on their vision of Konoha? How he betrayed the Will of Fire for power? Betrayed every conviction for the pursuit of power?" mocked Naruto with Orochimaru's face becoming a sneer.

"Enough! Time to kill," said Orochimaru before put the kunai with seal tags on them into the heads of the former Hokages.

But before he could give them command while the seals restored their bodies, Naruto was already in action with seals of his own, which he slapped onto the chest of both Hokages, which spread throughout their bodies before converging to their heads. Frowning at this action, Orochimaru makes a hand sign, and mentally commands both former Hokages to attack the blonde.

Only for to see neither Senju was obeying him.

"Like it? When we caught your spy Kabuto, we made him tell Ibiki, and Anko everything while giving the Hokage a false report on our findings. We kept certain things out of it to ensure you believed we didn't know everything while giving the _real_ report to the Fire Daimyo. Kabuto maybe a good spy and right hand man, but the problem with that, is he knew many key aspects of your grand plan with the old monkey behind me. Including the tags with seals on them to control Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama after summoning them using the Edo Tensei. So I had an army of Shadow Clones lock themselves into the clan library and learn everything they could about seals within the month prior to this moment. While I have a ways to go to be at the level of a Seal Master, I was able to come up with seals that converged over their intended target, and nullify certain aspects of the seal tags you put in their skulls to control them," replied Naruto with Orochimaru looking shocked by this.

"And by certain aspects, you mean Orochimaru's ability to command them after they were fully rejuvenated," deduced Hiruzen with Naruto turning his head back to glare at the Sandaime.

"Naturally you idiot. If the two most powerful Hokages are going to be brought back to life, if only temporarily, I would prefer they spend that time having the ability to act on their own, and think for themselves. Orochimaru here can no more command them to do anything then you can old monkey," replied Naruto with Hiruzen scowling at him.

"Thank you young one. Clearly you have the blood of an Uzumaki in your veins if your skills with sealing are this good. Mito would be so proud to know her clan is still alive in some aspects despite everything," said Hashirama with a smile before it became a scowl and aimed his eyes at Hiruzen.

"Indeed. I think its time we remind these whelps our power and show them the might of _true _Hokages," remarked Tobirama while turning to glare at Orochimaru, who felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine.

"Mind if I join you? I am family after all," said Naruto with Hashirama and Tobirama glancing at each other.

"Are you sure you can keep up? You are facing our old student and his own in this fight," asked Hashirama with Naruto smirking at the question before slowly drawing his sword and went into his Gatosu sword stance to the shock of the others around him.

'The stance of a samurai,' thought the three Hokages plus Sannin.

"I think the real question here Hashirama-sama...is can you two old formerly dead Kages keep up with me?" remarked Naruto with a smirk on his face while both former Hokages smirked back at the challenge.

"Let's find out," replied Tobirama, as he wasn't about to have this youngster outdo him.

"Agreed. Hiruzen is mine," said Hashirama while getting ready to fight the Sandaime.

"Same. I owe that man a lot of years for causing me pain and with interest since he tried to manipulate me into being Konoha's weapon long after I returned under the command of the Fire Daimyo," said Naruto while aiming his weapon at Hiruzen.

"You ungrateful little brat! You wouldn't have lived to the age of three if it weren't for my position as Hokage!" exclaimed Hiruzen while Hashirama frowned and Naruto just smirked.

"Perhaps, but you weren't really trying to protect me so your little proclamation means nothing," replied Naruto while Hiruzen scowled further.

"Come snake. Let us see if you are as talented as my idiot student claims you to be when fighting someone of _MY_ caliber," remarked Tobirama to the now scared Orochimaru.

"Tempting, but no. I am going to flee to fight another day. Preferably one without you to stop me," remarked Orochimaru before ordering his bodyguards to lower the barrier.

Of course before they could follow through with it, Tobirama was in front of Orochimaru in a span of a second, and punched the Sannin right in the gut. The force behind launched the pale man right off his feet, gasping for air, and coughing up blood seconds later. As for Tobirama, he wasn't done by a long shot, as he launched punch after punch, kick after kick, and broke bone after bone in the Sannin's body. While his brother maybe the better Taijutsu specialist between them, it was only a marginal difference at best. Tobirama also knew that the Sannin in front of him was a threat to the world just from his appearance alone and the way he talked around you.

That evil looking smile Orochimaru had earlier didn't help either.

To the sides, the Sannin's bodyguards ended the barrier, and swarmed over Tobirama in the hopes they could save their Master. Only for him to vanish from their sight and take them all down four seconds later with one body per second before refocusing on the now bloodied Orochimaru. The Sannin shed his body to bring about being fully healed, but it took quite a bit out of him, and was panting heavily from its use. The means to summon the Edo Tensei required a lot of chakra, as it did when summon anything regardless of what was being called, and given he summoned _two_ Hokages along with restoring his body back to normal physical health...he was pretty well drained.

"Water Style: Water Compression Bullets Jutsu!" exclaimed Tobirama at the Sannin, who found himself flying back with multiple holes in his chest area.

And again the Sannin shed his skin to be physically healthy again though clearly drained of chakra in the process.

"You won't beat me Tobirama. You may have been Hokage in your time, but someone such as yourself will _never_ be able to kill someone like me. I am _Immortal_. I am a _GOD_!" exclaimed Orochimaru, as he launched the Kusanagi blade from his mouth, aiming for the former Hokage's head in order to destroy it, and the seal tag inside to "kill" his former puppet where he now stood.

Sadly, for the Sannin anyway, the blade missed Tobirama due to the man tilting his head away, and was upon Orochimaru within seconds.

Before the pale faced Missing Nin could do anything, much less blink in surprise at his surprise attack missing its target, Tobirama grabbed as much of the poison covered blade (it didn't matter given the state of his body) while still in the Sannin's mouth, and pulled the sword right out. Since the Second Hokage was already super strong, ripping it out of Orochimaru's mouth, plus the man's tongue with it was not a problem, and now had the legendary weapon in his hand. As for ninja on the ground in front of him, Orochimaru was bleed out of the mouth, his chakra spent, and had none left for any Jutsu or trick in his arsenal. His bodyguards were down and had no one to provide him with an escape route. Kabuto was captured, locked in a dark cell so tight not even his old sensei or even Danzo could spring his agent from it.

"Wskt! Wskt!" pleaded Orochimaru with the words clearly being "Wait! Wait!" if what Tobirama deciphered correctly about his garbled words.

"No. I won't. I know what they say about snakes and it holds true for you Orochimaru. If I give you an inch, you will take a mile. Clearly my stupid former student has given you a mile and you have taken far more. I will not be so merciful or naive as he was in letting a piece of _filth_ like yourself live," remarked Tobirama before stabbing the Sannin in the chest, knowing the poison would soon spread through the pale man's body, but in the off chance his target had found a way to become immune to it...

Cutting off the legs next, Tobirama heard the gurgled screams of the Sannin, and they only intensified when the former Second Hokage slice into the arms up to the shoulders so they split right down the middle. All Orochimaru could do was cry out in pain, as the former dead Kage standing above him sliced, diced, and slowly chopped up his body while the poison from the blade made any form of regeneration impossible. Tobirama then proceeded to stab Orochimaru in the chest several times before finishing up with a beheading, and stabbing Kusanagi right through the head.

He was leaving no chance of the Sannin surviving this ordeal.

Meanwhile, as for Hashirama and Naruto, they found themselves working surprisingly in sync with each other despite working together for the first time in what would possibly be the only time they would work together. Hashirama met his student first, being the faster one between the two of them, and open palm struck the Sandaime Hokage right in the gut with the force behind it sending the elderly man flying back. Not to be outdone by the Shodaime Hokage himself, Naruto leaped over Hashirama, using the man's back as a springboard actually, and descended his blade down to strike Hiruzen's upper chest area.

The Sandaime dodged the attack, followed by several other sword strikes the blonde sent his way before leaping away and quickly summoning Enma the Monkey King to become his ever trusty adamantine staff. From there, Hiruzen blocked the sword strikes, and the Taijutsu skills of his former sensei while Enma himself talked into his ear about how his past sins were coming back to claim him. Hiruzen for his part scowled at the mention of his actions being sinful and being judged by his own summons for what he did in the past as the Sandaime Hokage. Sure he betrayed his late successor. Manipulated events so the boy in question would suffer and be submissive to the whims of the village. But it was for the greater good! The boy's life was meant to be sacrificed so Konoha could prosper and the Sandaime had saw fit to make sure it happened like that for the first part of Naruto's childhood.

That was the purpose and destiny of a Jinchuriki after all.

Hashirama, Tobirama, and Minato had all been naive in believing Jinchuriki should be treated as people. As equals. Jinchuriki were weapons. Weapons had no rights. No say it what was going to happen to them when growing up. Their purpose was to fight and to die for their village no matter how they were raised or trained.

"How could you do it Hiruzen? How could you betray all that I have taught you?" asked Hashirama before knocking Enma out of the old Kage's hands grabbed him by the throat while holding him there.

"Konoha needs to be strong. As such, I had to trim branch. Remove obstacles that would make Konoha weak. Certain allies who I felt needed to be removed back then in the event they learned of my plans for Konoha's future. Starting with your wife's clan. I betrayed the Uzumaki Clan during the Second Shinobi War when they asked us for aid because I wanted Konoha to have exclusive rights to Kyuubi. We had Mito's replacement so I saw no real need to help them knowing if I did, they would have survived, and demanded that Kushina return with Kyuubi. I couldn't allow that. Konoha had to remain the strongest and the Uzumaki Clan threatened to take everything they gave the village away if we did not follow through with the request at the time. I stalled for months on end while the war continued to escalate and knew the longer it lasted the harder it was for them to demand anything from us. When the Uzumaki Clan fell, I set things in motion to slowly remove the Uzumaki Clan from the history books and records of Konoha. Even the old Uzumaki Clan Mask Shrine has been in decline following Kushina's time in Konoha. Our village is the strongest because of my actions Hashirama. The Will of Fire is stronger and burns stronger then ever through me and my actions. I regret nothing nor am I ashamed of my actions," said Hiruzen while the former Shodaime scowled heavily and landed multiple hard hits to older man's torso.

"Stronger? Konoha is weak. Weaker then it has even been before my death. I can feel it even as I feel anger in my heart. You twisted everything that made Konoha great during my time as Hokage and that of my brother's reign into something cruel. You turned the Will of Fire from one of purity to a dark and vile blackness matched only by Uchiha Madara's black flames he could launch from his Sharingan Eyes! You are not _worthy _of being Hokage!" stated Hashirama angrily and saw Hiruzen was showing anger back at him in return.

"I am more then worthy! I endure countless battles, survived three Shinobi Wars, and lost countless friends in the process. My own wife died at the hands of Kyuubi on the night when the Uzumaki brat was born! You have no right to judge me _sensei_!" Hiruzen in an angry tone before kicking the man in the face with a flip kick.

"SARUTOBI HIRUZEN! YOUR HEAD BELONGS TO ME!" yelled Naruto, as he was laying in way in the event the old Kage tried to get free from Hashirama's grip and was not surprised when it happened.

Channeling quite a bit of chakra to his legs, Naruto readied himself with his ever deadly Gatosu stance, knowing he would have one chance to strike if and when Hiruzen broke free. When the event did happen, Naruto struck with an intense speed born from training, and chakra in his legs to give him the extra boot needed to attack. His sword outstretched, extending his reach, and catching the Sandaime Hokage off guard.

_SQUELCH!_

While the sword did pierce the target Naruto was aiming for, it didn't pierce the old Kage's skull like he hoped, but rather hit Hiruzen dead center in the chest. The impact from the attack sent the Sandaime Hokage skidding back, grabbing the sword with both his hands, and spitting out blood in the process. Breaking the sword with both his hands, Hiruzen kicked the boy away while falling to his knees.

"Damn you boy. You are troublesome as your Mother!" exclaimed Hiruzen angrily.

"Thank you. I try to be when it comes to assholes like you," replied Naruto while the old Kage tried to stand despite his current injury.

"You really that think my death will be the end of things brat? You have no idea of the dangers lurking outside of this village. Waiting to attack you once I am gone. I am the only thing keeping them back. The only thing keeping you safe from their wrath. From their fury!" exclaimed Hiruzen angrily with Naruto scoffing.

"Your definition of safe leaves a lot of room for improvement," remarked Naruto while walking toward the downed Hokage.

"And your lack of appreciation for what I have done since you were born is insulting! It is because me that you lived as long as you have. It is through me that the village did not kill you within an _hour_ following your birth!" countered Hiruzen while Naruto scowled at him.

"It was because of you I was hated. It was because of you I suffered. It was because of you that my Mother's clan is scattered to the four corners of the world. It was because of you that my Mother's clan has been removed from Konoha and no one knows anything about them," Naruto shot back and grabbed the helmet covered head of the injured Third Hokage.

"And let you become too powerful to control? Let the village love you rather then hate you like it has always been with Jinchuriki? Bah! Your life was meant to be controlled and you will be controlled one way or another long after I am gone!" Hiruzen shot back before spitting blood in Naruto face.

"Wrong. First, Uzumaki Mito along with my Mother were _never _hated for what they held by those select few who knew the truth. Second, my life was never meant to be controlled by the likes of you, and those that think like you do. I am the Master of my fate. I am the Captain of my soul. And as Captain of that soul...I will not have it usurped by some old, over the hill fool seeking to have his legacy of betrayal, greed, and lust for power live on even after his death!" exclaimed Naruto before stabbing Hiruzen in the throat with his broken sword and watched with a measure of satisfaction at seeing the Sandaime Hokage die by his hands.

"I shame to see our student fall the way he did," remarked Hashirama with Tobirama nodding.

"I am still a bit surprised we are still standing after I killed this one behind us," remarked Tobirama since he knew the Edo Tensei was suppose to end their returned existence once the summoner was killed.

"My seal was responsible for that. When I designed it knowing what Orochimaru had in mind, the seals spread through your body, and essentially performed a override regarding the _who_ part of the person sustaining you after being summoned," replied Naruto with the two Senju looking impressed.

"So instead of my student's student being the anchor for us being summoned, it was you through your seal tag spreading the sealing formula over our bodies," surmised Tobirama with his tone of voice clearly showing he was impressed.

"Exactly. I knew that if you were given the ability to move about freely, one of your main targets would be Orochimaru. But if you killed him first before we got to the old monkey here, your bodies would collapse, and I would be facing him all alone. I maybe good, but the old monkey would have used his years of experience to defeat me in the end. Not to mention the number of Konoha ninja he has who are loyal to him and would intervene on his behalf," commented Naruto before getting a grasp on the broken sword lodged in the dead Kage's chest and pulled it out knowing it could be repair.

"And your skills aren't even a considered Master level yet?" questioned Hashirama since the ingenious behind the seal used on him and his brother was worthy of being called work done only by a Master.

"Not yet. I'm currently using Shadow Clones in waves to study them for roughly the past month since my enemies plan required seals be used to counterattack. I need to use such a skill more in the field and continue to dive deeper into the theory of sealing before I can consider myself a proper Seal Master," replied Naruto with Hashirama looking impressed by the boy's stance on things and knew Mito would be proud.

"And what will you do now young one? Can you free us from the Edo Tensei or are we to live once more in this state?" asked Tobirama knowing that Naruto could (_in theory_ mind you), could have the power to control them in some aspect and held Konoha in his hands.

"Good question, but before I answer I would rather hear what _you_ want to do? Do you want to stay a little longer among the living? Or return to the land of the dead?" asked Naruto with Hashirama and Tobirama looking at each other.

"Konoha is in bad shape brother. We should stay around long enough to see it get set back on track," said Hashirama with Tobirama thinking things over and nodding.

"Agreed. We should remind these people and its Shinobi what the Will of Fire truly is and not what our idiot of a former student claims it to be in his eyes," replied Tobirama since he had a feeling it was more then just Hiruzen involved in this little plot to pervert Konoha to their liking.

"Plus, I need to see Tsunade-chan. I imagine she is all grown up. I wonder how she is doing?" remarked Hashirama while Naruto looked pensive and Tobirama scowled.

"What's wrong? From the look on your face, we are about to see if not hear something about Tsunade we will not like," stated Tobirama with Naruto nodding.

"Yeah. You are and its not pretty," said Naruto before he explained his life to them, how Tsunade was suppose to be his Godmother, but didn't commit to her duties, and only just recently did he suspect foul play at the hands of an Uchiha from the Uchiha Clan.

"I warned you the Uchiha could not be trusted brother. They have always been hateful of us no matter how many times you give them leeway!" exclaimed Tobirama angrily while Hashirama slumped his head in a form of depression.

"Actually Uchiha Itachi has been helping me greatly when called upon and has shown he embraces your version of the Will of Fire. The Fire Daimyo is so impressed with him that Itachi is to be made the next Hokage following Hiruzen's death or retirement," remarked Naruto both Senju being shocked by this news.

"What? But the Uchiha Clan will use him!" protested Tobirama while Naruto shook his head no.

"Itachi is not like the rest of his clan Tobirama-sama. In fact, he knows of the Uchiha I suspect used a Genjutsu on Tsunade to make her turn against me. I know you have some measure of distrust against the Uchiha Clan, but Itachi is not like them, and meet with the man to judge whether or not he is worthy. I think you will quite impressed," countered Naruto with Hashirama and Tobirama looking at one another before nodding.

"Very well. I will meet with this Uchiha though I doubt one from such a clan will impress me in being worthy of becoming Hokage," remarked Tobirama with Naruto smirking at him.

"Shall we? There are still plenty of Sound ninja left and seeing you two fighting will no doubt quickly force them all into submission," stated Naruto before gesturing to all of the fighting still going on around them.

"Agreed. First, we kill the pest attacking from without...before we handle the infestation attacking Konoha from within," remarked Tobirama before he and his brother leaped into the air toward Konoha's streets.

They had work to do.

'Now I just hope Saito-sensei will forgive me for breaking my sword in battle. I'm going to need something stronger. Maybe a visit to Iron Country is in order,' thought Naruto since he knew from his own history lessons that Iron Country was filled with some of the strongest samurai around and could make some of the finest swords in all the world.

He would just have to wait and see.

(A/N: YAY! An update after all this time. Sorry it took so long. Been busy. Of course you already knew that or knew I was going to say that, right? Well it is true! I have been busy. Plus I had to figure out how to portray things as they were after rereading every chapter I posted all over again. Wasn't easy. Also, you will notice the lineup for the Finals are different, right? Well they are different because no one knew who won in the Prelims. from the previous chapter. With Kakashi's team out of commission from the first part, not to mention all the other stuff following it, I had to do a little improvising, and had to think who would be in it given everything going on. Sorry if they were a little short since it was difficult to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter all the same. Until next time...PEACE!)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-The Transition

The battle was over. It had been over for quite a few days, but the aftermath of it was no less impacting. With Orochimaru dead, his forces captured or killed, things within the village were much better then if Suna had stayed the course of siding with the Sannin. Of course the reason for that not happening was all due to one person and one person only the people of Konoha had to thank for it.

Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto: The Harbinger of the Fire Daimyo.

Naturally, the majority of the people would never thank the boy, much less admit it was because of his actions that Konoha wasn't worse off with a few damaged buildings, and a few deaths. When the two former Hokages of Konoha suddenly appeared to aid in the fighting off of its enemies. Many assumed the Sandaime had something to do with it, and praised the announced dead Hokage for making what they had believed was the ultimate sacrifice to bring them back.

Before their beliefs on the matter were violently shattered when Hashirama and Tobirama told them what _really _happened in the fight between Hiruzen and Orochimaru. Of course denial was the first reaction many had, denouncing Naruto in his assistance in defending Konoha, and even calling for his death for being the one responsible for killing the Third soon after Orochimaru died.

Naturally, they were ignored by the Fire Daimyo, who was overseeing the transition of who would be the new Hokage. Danzo had tried to sneak himself into the role by having a small talk with the Daimyo and stating why he should take over for Hiruzen due to their differences in how things should be run in Konoha. Naruto had been there of course and had stated having ninja as mindless drones with the Hokage being their overall brain of a commander just made the leader of the village an even bigger target. Not to mention that Danzo himself was roughly the same age as Hiruzen while the other Kages from the other villages, with the exception of the Tsuchikage, and the late Kazekage (since he was now dead) were all young men in the prime of their lives.

Besides, Danzo's attempt to become the next Hokage was already invalid on itself since the Fire Daimyo had already decided, and stated Itachi would be the Gondaime Hokage.

Something that made Danzo, Homura, and Koharu very unhappy when they were told this news. The Uchiha Clan was ecstatic of course since one of their own got what they felt was always meant to be theirs since the days when Uchiha Madara was alive and part of the village.

From their point of view, it was about damn time they got one of their own in the seat of power.

Speaking of the Uchiha Clan, the two Senju brothers finally met Uchiha Itachi at Naruto's request since Tobirama was skeptical about the young man being worthy of the hat. The Second Hokage was surprised to see such a humble Uchiha, who clearly did not have the arrogance of his clan, and clearly embraced the Will of Fire like they had tried to past down to the next generation. As for Hashirama, he was happy someone from the Uchiha Clan was chosen to become the next Hokage. The former Shodaime Hokage remembered how he had an argument with Tobirama regarding the Uchiha Clan being untrustworthy prior to Madara going rogue, and even telling his brother that Madara would succeed him as Hokage upon his death. Only for Madara to hear this and leave Konoha, which led to Hashirama following, and fighting the man at what was now called the Valley of the End.

After talking things over with the Uchiha Prodigy, both former Hokages believed Itachi was indeed worthy of the title of Hokage of Konoha, and wished him many long years of prosperity during his time running the village.

Unfortunately, that was the good part of the transition for Itachi becoming Hokage, and soon had to deal with the bad.

Namely his predecessor's little nest of vipers he kept close enough to use, but kept away just enough to avoid being bitten by them.

(Konoha Hospital-At the Moment)

Naruto was walking beside Uchiha Itachi and being flanked on either side by Hashirama and Tobirama while in the hospital. They were here for the purpose of seeing one Senju Tsunade and getting to the bottom of their current investigation regarding the woman's Genjutsu enhanced betrayal of the Senju Clan's beliefs. Many gave them a wide berth as they headed for the intended room where the woman was resting.

Only to be stopped by two ANBU ninja guarding the room.

"Sorry sir, but you cannot enter," said one ANBU in an emotionless tone.

"On whose authority?" asked Naruto with a frown since only one person had it and he wasn't here with him.

"The new Gondaime Hokage of Konoha. Shimura Danzo," replied the second ANBU in an equally emotionless tone.

"Shimura Danzo is not the new Hokage. I am," stated Itachi while the two ANBU said nothing for a moment.

"All the same, we have orders to keep anyone not authorized to enter out of the room until ordered," said the first ANBU while Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Even _IF_ Danzo becoming the new Hokage was remotely true, then you would know that _I_ cannot be impeded by him. My rank as the Daimyo's Harbinger is higher and as such you will let us all pass on my order alone. Or do the two of you wish to be arrested on the grounds of treason?" challenged Naruto with both ANBU glancing at each other.

"Danzo-sama's orders are absolute as the one true Hokage. We do not recognize you or your authority," stated the second ANBU while slowly moving his hand for a kunai and his partner doing the same.

Only for both ANBU guards to be knocked down by the two Senju brothers. Getting even more suspicious, Naruto opened the door to the hospital room, and saw Danzo was there with another ANBU near Tsunade. The said ANBU had a sealing brush and ink in hand while Danzo watched with a sense of satisfaction on his face...until he saw Naruto with the others beside him.

"I ordered no one to enter without my permission. What are you four doing here?" asked Danzo while Naruto snapped his fingers and sent the two former Hokages to work.

One knocked the ANBU out and the other pinned Danzo to the wall with an iron grip on the old war hawks throat.

"First, you have no right to question _me_ about why I am here Danzo. I outrank you in just about every aspect of life. Second, you have no right to command ANBU to keep me, or the rightful Hokage appointed by the Fire Daimyo himself out of this room. And third, what were you doing here with this ANBU holding that sealing brush?" countered Naruto before walking over to Tsunade and examined the woman with a currently incomplete seal on her forehead.

"I do not have to answer to you boy. I am the Gondaime Hokage no matter what the Fire Daimyo says. I am the only one qualified to be the leader of this village," replied Danzo before gagging under Tobirama's grip.

"You never did learn to stop reaching for something when it was out of your reach brat," remarked Tobirama while Naruto continued to examine the seal on Tsunade.

"What were you doing to my Granddaughter?" demanded Hashirama to the ANBU, but all he got was silence in the end.

"Don't bother Hashirama-sama. The ANBU is clearly from Root. They have seals on their tongues to keep them silent when interrogated by anyone seeking information they might know about their mission or about Danzo," said Naruto while seeing what the seal was meant to do once completed.

It was Genjutsu reinforcement seal.

"Do you need help removing the seal?" asked Itachi while Naruto shook his head no.

"No. I just have to wipe it off. Its incomplete. This seal was clearly designed to reinforce the Genjutsu someone put on Tsunade years ago. Meaning Danzo knows _who_ put the Genjutsu on her in the first place and was trying to make sure it stayed on in case it was ever discovered by us. No doubt done to prevent it from being broken," replied Naruto before wiping it off the woman and turned to face Danzo.

"You dare to that to my family? You have some nerve brat!" exclaimed Tobirama while Hashirama snapped the next of the ANBU he held in his hand and tossed the body aside.

"I have every right. The position of Hokage was to be _mine_! It would have been _mine_. All I had to do was ensure Orochimaru killed Hiruzen, then I moved in to kill him to become Konoha's hero, and in the chaos of it all I would make Tsunade seem incapable of taking the seat knowing Jiraiya would turn it down. I could have convinced the Fire Daimyo I am the only one capable of taking the position of Hokage to mold in my image," replied Danzo with Tobirama now looking livid at this betrayal.

"Under what right do you believe the title of Hokage should be yours?" asked Tobirama with Danzo gagging under the former Hokage's tight grip.

"The fact I have survived three Shinobi Wars. I have done everything in my power to protect Konoha from the shadows. Killing our enemies left and right. Crushing future enemies before they become our enemies. I have fought to make our village the most powerful of all the Shinobi villages and I deserve what rightfully belongs to me for my years of loyal service," explained Danzo before he was punched violently in the gut by Tobirama.

"You will never be worthy of becoming Hokage. I was told all about your actions since Hashirama and myself departed this world Danzo. Turning ninja into emotionless drones who obey only you and your commands while killing everyone who thinks differently from you. Such actions are not someone worthy of being called the Hokage of Konoha. They are the actions of a narrow-minded _tyrant_!" stated Tobirama while Danzo scowled further.

"Your ways are done Tobirama-sensei. Such views died with you a long time ago," said Danzo before he was hit again by the former Second Hokage.

"Our ways maybe over Shimura Danzo, but I will not allow yours to continue either," countered Tobirama before being thrown to the ground.

"I will take him to Ibiki and inform of his actions. I leave your mission to free Tsunade from her madness in your capable hands Itachi," remarked Naruto before putting chakra cuffs on the old man and forced the war hawk to stand.

"Of course Naruto. Just be careful. Danzo has allies everywhere in the village," replied Itachi while watching the scowling old war hawk being forced out of the room by Naruto.

"To think Konoha has fallen so far since our time," remarked Hashirama while gazing at his Granddaughter now with sorrow.

"It is not your fault brother. We left a foundation to build from, but left it in the hands of those who did not know how to maintain, or properly building from it. We have a chance now to correct the mistakes left following our death and with a competent Hokage now in the form of an Uchiha. What a world we have come to see upon our return from the land of the dead," replied Tobirama while seeing Itachi activate his eyes while staring at the Senju woman.

"You need to wake her up. It seems to be tied to her being awake," said Itachi, as he did not see the possible Genjutsu that Naruto suspected was cast on her, and was what made the woman reject the boy as her Godson.

With Hashirama nodding, he slowly shook his Granddaughter awake, and could only smile at the sight of seeing the seemingly innocent face of his child's child awaking up. To see Tsunade become a full grown woman in her own right despite everything that had happened to her in life and with this Genjutsu possibly corrupting her mind.

"Grandfather? W-What are you doing here? Where am I?" asked Tsunade, as she sat up, and looked around to see her Granduncle along with Uchiha Itachi with his eyes active.

"Hello Tsunade-chan. You've grown up to become a beautiful woman. Just like I had hoped," replied Hashirama before giving Tsunade a hug.

"I missed you. I'm so glad you are here. But...how are you here? How is Granduncle here too?" asked Tsunade while confused by this and saw Itachi frown.

'Strange. The signs of a Genjutsu being placed on Tsunade are indeed there, but it seems to be lying..._dormant_! As if there was a specific trigger involved and needed to bring that hatred for Naruto out. I wonder...,' thought Itachi while watching the woman closely.

"We were originally brought back by your former teammate Orochimaru to fight your former sensei and our former student Hiruzen. But things quickly changed with the help of someone unexpected from Mito's clan," answered Tobirama while Tsunade frowned.

"Grandmother's clan? Who are you...wait! You mean..._him_?! That demon brat?!" asked Tsunade angrily while Hashirama frowned, Tobirama scowled, and Itachi narrowed his eyes.

'As I thought. The trigger for the Genjutsu only activates when Naruto is mentioned in some shape or form,' thought Itachi while watching the woman's face getting angrier with each passing second.

"How can you say that Tsunade? He is family! On your Grandmother's side! How can you betray her and the Uzumaki Clan?!" questioned Hashirama while Tsunade looked at him in shock and even greater anger.

"Kushina is dead because of him. Mito entrusted her with Kyuubi and was like a daughter to me. When that _brat_ was born, she died at the hands of the fox that would have stayed in her had Naruto not been born!" exclaimed Tsunade with Hashirama shaking his head.

"You know that is not true Tsunade. Your blind hatred for the boy is misplaced and goes against our clan's ways," said Tobirama while Tsunade glared at him.

"He is a monster! He robbed me of Kushina! My surrogate daughter! I will not tolerate his existence!" exclaimed Tsunade angrily while Itachi's eyes began spinning.

'The Genjutsu surrounding Tsunade is getting stronger. The more people challenge her about Naruto, the angrier she gets, and furthers her anger to the point where even strong counterpoints against her reasons are denied their merits within the mind. There is only one person with the Sharingan Eye capable of this. Oh Shisui, did you really have to go that far? Did Hiruzen put you up to it? Knowing you would do anything he asked of you for the sake of his vision? Or was it Danzo? Did all three of them conspire against Naruto in order to keep him completely dependant on Konoha regardless of the abuse he would have suffered through without support from those that mattered?' thought Itachi while he saw the Genjutsu continue to make the woman angrier at the mention of her being wrong about Naruto.

"Enough! Tsunade I am giving you a choice. I will not offer an alterative to this and I am only offering this to you one time. You either abandon your hatred for Naruto-kun or...or I remove you as member the Senju Clan...and...as my Granddaughter," said Hashirama with Tsunade and even Tobirama looking at him in shock.

"W-What?" whispered Tsunade in shock.

"Brother?" asked Tobirama while Hashirama raised his hand to silence him.

"What is stronger Tsunade? Our clan, which has long since promoted friendship, and love for our family? Or your misplaced hatred for Naruto-kun? I am not kidding Tsunade. You maybe my Granddaughter and I love you. But...I will not love you as family anymore if you make the wrong decision here," said Hashirama while Tsunade looked devastated by this choice.

"You would choose him over me?" asked Tsunade with Hashirama nodding.

"With the way you are acting toward Naruto? A Jinchuriki like your Grandmother was at one point in her long life? Like his Mother Kushina from what I was recently told? Yes," answered Hashirama with Tsunade gritting her teeth angrily.

"Wait Hashirama-sama. Let's not be hasty. Let's not make this Genjutsu on her help in making the wrong decision here," said Itachi before putting his hand Tsunade head and made a hand sign.

'Genjutsu? What Genjutsu?' thought Tsunade, as she stared into Itachi's Sharingan Eyes now spinning hypnotically in front of her before she felt something inside break, and the vast amount of anger she felt toward Naruto was gone.

"There. Now we will see if the hatred she has for Naruto-kun is natural or there because of the Genjutsu placed on her by a member of my clan," said Itachi while Tsunade now clutched her head again.

"What Genjutsu? What are you talking about?" asked Tsunade while shaking her head and shaking off the sudden mental confusion she felt right now.

"Someone put a Genjutsu on you years ago. It was designed to make you hate one person in particular by the name of Naruto. Though I know this Genjutsu well. The only way the Genjutsu can fully work however, is if the person is weak minded, _OR_ they...," said Itachi while finding himself hesitant to finish in the presence of the two Senju brothers.

"Or? Or what?!" demanded Tsunade with Itachi sighing and saw both former Hokages nod to finish the sentence.

"_OR_ the person already hated the intended target, but kept such feelings suppressed for the most part. As long as the hatred for Naruto was there from the start, the Genjutsu had something it could attach to in the form of an anchor to fulfill its purpose," finished Itachi while Tsunade flinched and looked away.

"Tsunade. Do you really hate Naruto for what happened? Do you honestly blame him for that night? Even now?!" questioned Hashirama with Tsunade not looking at him until he forced her to look at him by holding the woman's face in his hand.

"Yes. In some ways, he is responsible for Kushina's death and Kyuubi's attack. You know what happens when female Jinchuriki get pregnant," answered Tsunade with Hashirama sighing and shaking his head while Tobirama let out a sound from his throat.

"Tsunade, I asked Naruto about the night of his birth. What the Biju told him. _Showed him_! A masked Uchiha claiming to be Uchiha Madara attacked that night. He ripped Kyuubi right out of the seal and forced him to attack Konoha with the Sharingan. Now while I do not believe Madara is alive behind that mask, I do believe a rogue Uchiha was there, and this rogue Uchiha was responsible for the chaos that happened. Not Naruto," said Hashirama with Tsunade crying tears now while denial still existed in them for a second before she broke down and hugged her Grandfather.

"Oh Kami! What have I done? I have betrayed everything that made me a Senju and part Uzumaki!" exclaimed Tsunade into her Grandfather's chest.

"There is still time to correct this Tsunade. You can still connect with Naruto. You can still be a Godmother to him," said Hashirama in a comforting tone.

"I know. And I will make this up to him. Whatever he asks of me. I will pay him back," whispered Tsunade slightly, but it was heard by all three of them.

"What I want to know is how this Uchiha managed to use his eyes on you? When did it happen?" asked Tobirama while Tsunade thought back to the only possible meeting she had where an Uchiha was present.

And at the time she didn't truly hate Naruto for what he held.

(Flashback-Three days after the Kyuubi's attack)

"The boy should be raised by me sensei. I am the closest thing he has to family," said Tsunade while sitting in the Hokage's Office with ANBU stationed in it.

She had let Shizune stay outside with Tonton because the girl shouldn't see her angry in the event this talk went bad.

"The boy needs to form bonds with Konoha while growing up Tsunade. You are ready to pack up and leave! Are you telling me that you would stay in Konoha for Naruto?" asked Hiruzen while smoking his pipe.

"If necessary, then yes. Yes I would," replied Tsunade with Hiruzen frowning slightly.

"Even though the boy is somewhat responsible for Kushina's death? After all, his birth did cause the demon sealed inside of her to get out, and cause untold destruction upon Konoha," reminded Hiruzen in a subtle way while Tsunade frowned a bit and looked away since the mentioning of Kushina hurt.

It was also because she looked away like Hiruzen knew Tsunade would, did the Senju woman miss the subtle hand motion to the ANBU masked Uchiha.

"He's just a child. He shouldn't be punished just for being born," spat Tsunade angrily before glaring at her sensei.

"I am not saying he should Tsunade. But your hidden tone of anger suggests differently. Hence why you can't raise him," countered Hiruzen while the ANBU masked Uchiha worked the special power of his Sharingan Eyes discreetly on the woman while he was talking.

"So what if I am a bit angry? You would be too over the loss of family and loved ones over the years. Your clan hasn't been dwindling into extinction!" exclaimed Tsunade with her anger rising while Hiruzen stayed calm.

"And Kushina was family to you Tsunade. Uzumaki Clan blood binds the two of you in a sense through your Grandmother. She was the daughter you always wanted and now that person is gone because of Naruto. If I give him to you, he wouldn't survive to live to see his fourth or even fifth birthday," added Hiruzen while seeing the Genjutsu slowly taking hold and filling the woman's eyes with anger.

"You're damn right he wouldn't! If it were up to me right now, I would break every bone in the brat's body, and throw it into the nearest incinerator!" exclaimed Tsunade with her anger reaching its zenith and smashing her fists against the desk.

"But its not up to you Tsunade. Its up to me. Naruto is a Jinchuriki. Meaning he is our weapon of war. Or will be in the future once carefully conditioned to serve Konoha no matter what. I can't have you in Konoha right now given your state of mind. Go out into the world! Go drink! Gamble! Use your talents in the medical field to help others where they are needed! Take Shizune with you! She wants to be a great medic one day so teach her what you know!" encouraged Hiruzen while the Uchiha's Sharingan Eyes did there work in influencing Tsunade.

"I think I will. This village has too many bad memories for me. So long as the brat is here in Konoha, I will not," stated Tsunade before she got up and headed for the door.

"Don't worry about a thing Tsunade. Everything is under control here," added Hiruzen with Tsunade nodding at him before leaving the room.

(End Flashback)

"I see. So it was Uchiha Shisui. He told me once how the Hokage has him perform guard duty in his office around the time when Tsunade was in Konoha," said Itachi now that he had enough evidence to arrest his friend for treason.

Using his eyes on a citizen of Konoha was bad enough, but to use it on a member of another clan was worse. Even more so when using it to commit treason!

"I take it you will arrest him for this crime?" asked Tobirama with Itachi nodding.

"I intend to do it..._personally_!" replied Itachi while heading out of the room to carry out his sworn duty to protect Konoha.

Starting by protecting it from itself.

"Go with him brother. I need to stay here and make sure Tsunade-chan gets her head on straight again by the time we get out of here," said Hashirama with Tobirama nodding before leaving the room to join up with Itachi.

"I'm sorry Grandfather. I'm sorry I was such a disappointment to you. Even without the Genjutsu, I still hated Naruto for what I assumed he did when brought into this world by Kushina," whispered Tsunade with Hashirama gently rubbing the back of the woman's head lovingly.

"You are not a disappointment to me Tsunade. While I was not able to see you grow up to become a competent ninja, I have heard of all the good things you've done for Konoha prior to this. You have become the best medic in the entire world. Your skills in saving lives is second to none. The only thing holding you back now is your pride, your guilt, and your fear that everyone around you will die. You must let go of your pride, your guilt, and your fears in order to achieve a means of breaking down the barriers you have created for yourself," replied Hashirama while Tsunade looked up at him in shock.

"How do I do that?" asked Tsunade while Hashirama smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry. While I have time in this world once more, I will teach you what to do, and when I'm through you will be even stronger," replied Hashirama while almost mentally thanking Orochimaru for using the Edo Tensei, but felt the Sannin was unworthy of it, and decided to mentally thank Naruto for altering the seals in place so they could be alive long enough to fix some very big mistakes.

(With Naruto and Danzo)

Many were shocked to see Danzo wearing chakra cuffs and being escorted by Naruto of all people to the T&I Dept. since many did not believe the old war hawk had ever done anything to warrant such a move. Some ninja started to protest this and would have even moved to get Danzo out of the cuff, but Naruto's glare, and sharp killer intent made them back off.

It was a reminder to them all who he served that outranked even the Hokages of old.

It also reminded them that Konoha was on thin ice with the Fire Daimyo and any kind of defiance would just be another nail being pounded down into the coffin.

"You really think this will stop me brat? I may have lost my political seat on the Councils when the Fire Daimyo interfered years ago after taking you in, but the roots beneath the tree still grow deep," remarked Danzo with Naruto smirking despite the cryptic warning.

"If you think your pathetic drones will come to aid you in your time of need, then don't bother. They won't," said Naruto with Danzo frowning.

"And you know this how?" asked Danzo curiously.

"Simple. When the Fire Daimyo decreed that if he found Konoha had become corrupted from the village it use to be when founded, it would be liquidated. Anyone interfering in my investigation in any shape of form while I am here on his behalf would be charged with treason. Impeding the investigation is not good for Konoha. It just means the Fire Daimyo will close this place down sooner while any and all traitors responsible for the village's corruption will be hanged like common criminals. While your Root maybe loyal to you Danzo, they also follow the creed you set in doing only what is in the best interest of Konoha. If they were to move against me to save you, it would make them traitors to Konoha, and to Fire Country. It would result in Konoha being shut down. They would be violating the very creed Root was founded on. That you founded it on. You maybe their Boss when it comes to leading them Danzo, but in the end...the creed they were trained to follow by you comes first," explained Naruto while Danzo grit his teeth in anger.

'Damn it! He's right. I conditioned them to follow the most important parts of the creed that Root was made on to the letter. To always do what was in the best interest of Konoha and ensure the village prospers. If they were to free me, the Fire Daimyo would see it as an act of defiance to his wishes, and end Konoha with a simple command. Even if I were to give the order to break me out of prison, they wouldn't obey the command despite their loyalty to me due to the followings of the creed!' thought Danzo at the idea of having his own principles about Root being used against him.

He had hoped through all the chaos that the position of Hokage could somehow still be reached, even with the Fire Daimyo making Itachi the new Hokage. While everyone was dragging their feet in terms of what to do, Danzo had begun whispering through the ninja ranks how he was really the new Hokage, if only acting as a secret one. He intended to lie about how the Fire Daimyo had made this decision in secret while Itachi was the official Hokage on paper. That this was done in order to prevent Konoha's enemies lurking just around the corner from ever knowing the truth. Danzo even planned to recruit Shisui to his cause in using the Sharingan again on Itachi before the Uchiha Prodigy could even see it coming. Hiruzen had done it to get Tsunade to hate the Kyuubi Jinchuriki so Danzo knew it could be done again on Itachi if one timed it perfectly.

Unfortunately, his overall timing of his actions against Tsunade to reinforce the Genjutsu Shisui placed on her had been thrown off due to the Kyuubi Jinchuriki's interference in wanting to see her. The plan was to lock the Genjutsu in place with the seal, dishonoring the Senju woman to the point where her misplaced anger toward the Jinchuriki would have forfeited her right to be Hokage in the future should Itachi meet his end sooner then he would have liked. Jiraiya didn't want the position due to his own vices and ways of living. With Tsunade already having the ire of Naruto and the Fire Daimyo made Danzo the next best and only remaining candidate to become the actual Hokage of Konoha.

Again, his timing for these things had been miscalculated (a rarity in itself), and Naruto along with his temporarily brought back to like Senju cousins had interfered.

"Also, I doubt you are the true patriot of Konoha you proclaim yourself to be Danzo. So don't you dare call yourself one with a straight face. Its an insult to the Will of Fire," added Naruto while Danzo scowled at him.

"As if you know anything about the Will of Fire brat!" countered Danzo while Naruto smirked at him.

"Actually, I do know quite a bit about the Will of Fire. I was told about the Will of Fire by the two people who helped in the creation of the concept for Konoha. Or has your vision truly failed you regarding just who it was that stopped your action at the hospital?" Naruto shot back with Danzo growling in anger.

"Their version of the Will of Fire is over. Snuffed out upon their deaths. The world has no place for such naive dreams," remarked Danzo before being jabbed in the back by Naruto.

"The same could be said for you and Hiruzen's version of it. Your version can't even be called the Will of Fire because you believe in not having emotions. Fire is an emotion in itself just as it is an element. By your own concept of things, the Will of Fire isn't a fire at all, but rather a pile of ashes with a few burning embers," countered Naruto with Danzo not liking how his version of the Will of Fire was considered in such a manner.

"And I suppose Hiruzen's was a better version?" questioned Danzo with Naruto scoffing at him.

"Hardly. If anything, he made his own concept regarding the Will of Fire out to be too hot! It burned almost everyone who got near or tried to touch it. Even those loyal to him were burned by the fire and only because he made sure no one outside of himself knew how to properly wield it. The man was never one for sharing. He portrayed himself as the caring Grandfatherly figure to the young, but deep down he was greed, self-righteous power hungry asshole, who deserved to die for his past crimes. Your legacy will be no better upon your execution once Ibiki is done with you," remarked Naruto with Danzo not liking that last part.

"I have done absolutely nothing to warrant an execution!" protested Danzo with Naruto scoffing at him.

"Oh really? Then you won't mind if Ibiki, Anko, and Inoichi rip your wrinkly old head open to confirm that statement?" questioned Naruto with Danzo staying quiet while his face became a snarl.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Homura, as he along with Koharu were now blocking their way to see Ibiki, and were none to pleased by this.

"I'm taking this traitor here to Ibiki. He is being charged with treason against Konoha for trying to put an unauthorized seal on Senju Tsunade," answered Naruto with Homura and Koharu scowling, but what caught the blonde's attention was they weren't surprised by what they heard.

"You have no right to do that brat," stated Homura while Koharu nodded in agreement.

"Oh? And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? Are you the Fire Daimyo?" asked Naruto with Homura scowling further.

"No," replied Homura through gritting teeth.

"Are you the Hokage?" asked Naruto with Homura's scowl deepening.

"No," replied Homura again with an even more strained voice.

"Are _you_ either of these things?" asked Naruto to Koharu with the elderly woman shaking her head no.

"No," replied Koharu in a simple yet miffed toned.

"Then you have no authority here. Step aside," commanded Naruto with neither obeying.

"We do not answer to you or your authority boy. Danzo is a well respected comrade and loyal patriot of Konoha. Hiruzen may have been forced to bend to the whims of the Fire Daimyo in granting you some form of authority, but we are not so kind as him in regards to obeying such commands," replied Koharu while Naruto scowled at them.

"You seem very confident in yourself right now despite knowing you are committing treason against the Fire Daimyo by impeding his authority," remarked Naruto while the two seemingly joined at the hip Shinobi Advisors seemed unafraid of the concept that they could be charged with treason.

"We will see who is charged with treason by the end of the day," remarked Homura with Naruto sensing they were no longer alone.

He was surrounded and by Root ninja at that.

"Strange. I assumed they would follow the creed of Root and not interfere knowing what would happen if they do. Apparently, you persuaded them to think otherwise," remarked Naruto while Koharu and Homura smirked while Danzo was feeling more confident he could get out of this.

"No one loyal to the Fire Daimyo, where they are Shinobi or samurai, are in this general area right now. We have blanked this area in a Genjutsu to keep prying eyes away from this moment. You will not make it to your intended destination brat. You will be beaten, restrained, and the official word to the Fire Daimyo was you were attacked by an ambush party of Sound Nin hiding in wait. You will be reconditioned to be Konoha's weapon and will be _our_ weapon against those that oppose us. Even if that person happens to be the Fire Daimyo himself. It was foolish of him to get involved in your life and shaping it into the very abomination that stands before us," said Koharu while Naruto smirked at her.

"Do you really think the Fire Daimyo is going to simply take your word for it? Unlikely given your own stained reputations that are just as filth as Hiruzen's and Danzo's own. He'd sooner trust a pet monkey over you two," remarked Naruto before bringing out his staff and looked around at the number of enemies in front of him.

"Take him!" commanded Homura before wave after wave of Root Shinobi descended upon Naruto.

Naruto smirked despite the situation. Looks like he was going to get a descent workout today after all.

(Uchiha Clan District-At the Moment)

The Uchiha Clan was having a massive clan wide party. For once, after going through four Hokages before today, an _Uchiha_ would be made the Gondaime Hokage. And why not? They had earned it! All the years of ridicule, suspicion, and resentment since the Kyuubi's attack made life in Konoha almost unbearable.

It was getting really infuriating!

But now? Now they had one of their own in the Hokage's Chair. Wearing the Hokage Robes. The Hokage's Hat. Wielding the authority such a title provided as the supreme ruler of Konoha (Fire Daimyo not withstanding) while commanding all of its ninja to obey the one wearing the hat.

So it was quite shocking to see the appointed Uchiha for Hokage walking through the Uchiha District with the former Second Hokage. Both with serious looks on their faces. Granted the looks were always serious, but this was more so then usual, and it made a few partiers curious to what was going on.

They soon found out when Itachi and Tobirama walked up to Uchiha Shisui, who just so happened to be talking to Uchiha Fugaku, and the rest of the Uchiha Clan Head's family.

"Itachi! Tobirama-sama! What an unexpected surprise! We were just talking about you my son," said Fugaku while Itachi nodded while Tobirama just looked on from a few feet back with his arms crossed.

"I am afraid I cannot stay for the festivities Father. Important work as the Hokage has just come up. Hence why I am here," replied Itachi while gazing slightly at Shisui, who was feeling a little nervous for some reason.

"Really? What business? Maybe we can help," offered Fugaku since the Uchiha Police Force helping the Hokage would only be beneficial at this point.

"You can help me by arresting Shisui for treason and using his bloodline on another clan within Konoha," commanded Itachi while the Uchiha in question being charged was now looking pale.

All of which went unnoticed by Fugaku, who considered it a joke of some kind, and was laughing hysterically.

"Shisui? Under arrest? Ha! That is a good one son!" exclaimed Fugaku, who was finding it hard to stop laughing right now.

"I don't think he's joking Fugaku," said Mikoto while she saw Itachi staring intently at Shisui with his Sharingan Eyes now active.

"Indeed I am not. As the new Hokage, my first official act is to arrest Uchiha Shisui for using his Sharingan Eyes to cast a Genjutsu on Senju Tsunade on the command from my predecessor Sarutobi Hiruzen," replied Itachi while Shisui began to back up a bit.

"It was an official order Itachi. You have no grounds to arrest me," remarked Shisui while the mood within the Uchiha Clan became more serious after hearing that.

"The order was illegal and you know it Shisui. The Konoha Charter forbids any clan from using Genjutsu on another clan of Konoha, even if the given Hokage of the time made it an order," stated Itachi while Shisui narrowed his eyes.

"It was for the good of Konoha. Tsunade was going to take the Kyuubi Jinchuriki out of the village to raise on her own. Sandaime-sama wanted the brat contained in Konoha to be molded as a submissive weapon!" said Shisui with Itachi narrowing his eyes at him.

"I know. Tsunade told us about the meeting after I broke the Genjutsu. Her family is most displeased Shisui. One of which is standing behind me," remarked Itachi with Shisui now looking between pissed off and scared.

"Don't you realize what you've done?!" questioned Shisui angrily with Itachi nodding.

"Yes I certainly do Shisui. I am giving Tsunade this one and only chance at redemption to form bonds with her only Godson. A Godson you manipulated with your eyes to make her hate Naruto so he would never be loved by those that would give it to him the most," replied Itachi with Shisui snarling at him.

"No you fool! You are ruining everything Hiruzen and Danzo had planned for Konoha! You are ruining everything that will make Konoha great again!" exclaimed Shisui, as he moved to flee, but was struck hard in the torso by the speed of Tobirama, and his fist hitting the Uchiha hard.

"Hiruzen is dead. His legacy died with him. Danzo will soon join my former student for his actions in trying to make your Genjutsu permanent," replied Tobirama before he took some chakra cuffs he had with him and bound the stunned Uchiha.

"Itachi! This is madness! Stop this right now!" commanded Fugaku while Itachi looked at his Father with deadly eyes.

All Mikoto and Sasuke could do was watch events unfold before them while finding that they themselves were feeling like they could do absolutely nothing.

"You maybe my Father and the Uchiha Clan Head, but I do not answer to you in either way as Hokage. The Fire Daimyo made it clear that you would have no such power over me and to try would not be tolerated," replied Itachi with his Sharingan Eyes spinning at his Father.

"Someone stop them!" exclaimed Shisui with many of the Uchiha now unsure what to do at this point.

"Any Uchiha here who tries to stop us will be considered accessories and will be charged as well for crimes against Konoha," said Itachi with many around him backing down.

"How can you arrest him? He's an Uchiha? Like you!" demanded Sasuke at last.

"You make it sound like I should let his crimes go unpunished simply because he is an Uchiha?" questioned Itachi with Sasuke glaring at him.

"Of course you should! You are the Hokage so let him go!" demanded Sasuke with Itachi shaking his head.

"Foolish little brother. Even _IF_ I wanted to do what you are suggesting Sasuke, the Fire Daimyo has already been made aware of Shisui's involvement in this conspiracy. To not do what is right will spell doom for Konoha as a whole. The Uchiha Clan is not above the law. As members of its police force you must enforce the law as it is and the law is clear when it comes to using a Genjutsu on someone from another clan. Unless the Genjutsu is meant to help, heal, or aid someone in recovery of an injury it cannot be used on anyone within Konoha. Since Shisui used his eyes on Tsunade to make her hate Naruto so she wouldn't raise him, what he did was one of the highest crimes committed. It is an insult to the Uchiha Clan's very _honor_ as a clan and as part of the police force. Any who support Shisui or his conspirators clearly have no clan honor and will be arrested as well before being executed. Decide!" stated Itachi while the entire clan hearing this looked at each other while Shisui looked at them with pleading eyes.

"Come on! Get me free! Fight them! You outnumber these bakas ten to one!" exclaimed Shisui in a pleading tone.

"Quantity means nothing without the necessary quality to back it up Uchiha," remarked Tobirama before making the Uchiha march towards the T&I Department.

All the while, Shisui was pleading for his fellow clan members to save him, and finding his pleas being ignored by all.

"You just made your very first mistake as Hokage by doing this Itachi. You have made the entire Uchiha Clan your enemy from now on," remarked Fugaku while Itachi glanced at his Father.

"On the contrary, I just saved Konoha, and the entire Uchiha Clan from being liquidated in its entirety. Or did you forget the Fire Daimyo is not tolerating this village's arrogance any longer?" countered Itachi before handing him a scroll with the Daimyo's seal on it.

"What's this?" asked Fugaku with Itachi walking away.

"Orders. Orders regarding what the Fire Daimyo would have done had you or anyone else in the clan tried to stop us," answered Itachi before he vanished in a swirl of leaves while his Father read the orders and went pale.

"What orders? What is he talking about?" asked Sasuke in a semi-arrogant tone.

"The Fire Daimyo has decreed all conspirators in Konoha who are against Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto and those who put Senju Tsunade in that Genjutsu to be traitors of Konoha. Any and all traitors are to be killed in a public execution along with any who oppose the executions for they will be labeled as traitors too. If enough of these traitors happen to be from clans...they will be reduced in number down to the low double digits to single digits depending on just how many are against his actions in the next couple of months," replied Fugaku knowing that if they did protest or stop Shisui from being taken away...the Fire Daimyo would wipe out most of his clan.

And something told Fugaku that Itachi would just stand there in the distance while letting it happen.

'It's all that Naruto guy's fault. He's making my life and the lives within the Uchiha Clan horrible. He's making Itachi run our clan through the mud as Hokage even though it should be the opposite! I don't care if Naruto is some kind of messenger for the Daimyo, if I see an opening...I will end him!' thought Sasuke angrily while ignorijt the throbbing loss if his arm.

After the fighting ended Sasuke was having his arm or rather the lack of one being examined by a doctor, when his father came to take him home. The ANBU protested this at first, but Fugaku used his eldest son's new position as Hokage to get his youngest into his custody to get "proper" treatment. Sasuke was happy his father cared and had been enjoying Itachi's and now the Uchiha Clan's success at the seat of power.

Until now that is with this arrest.

it was right here and now that Sasuke realized his brother had no true loyalty to the clan, but to an outsider,and the feudal lord who supported them. Sasuke knew he needed to do something soon one day or else the clan would not see the glory days it believed would come.

In Sasuke's mind...the Namikaze had to die!

(With Naruto)

The blonde Namikaze was panting heavily. Bodies of the Root Shinobi sent to subdue him were on the ground. Broken. Bleeding. Most of them dead. Danzo was on his knees, his one visible arm was shattered in six places after a Root Nin got him out of the chakra cuffs, and he reached for the sword hidden in his cane. The sword itself was broken too along with three of his ribs and one of his kneecaps was shattered. Every Root Shinobi that went to retrieve Danzo was struck down by Naruto and his Bojutsu skills mixed with Taijutsu.

The Fire Temple Monks trained him well.

Unfortunately, he had only gone through a little over half of them with plenty more to go, plus the two Shinobi Advisors though Naruto seriously doubted they would be a threat given how they traded in their ninja skills for political ones. And yet, he kept on grinning despite being tired, as his body, despite being strong for his age, had been strained during the fighting of all the Sound Nin a few days ago, and had yet to fully recover all of his strength when fighting the Sandaime Hokage.

Clearly his enemies knew this and felt this would be the best if not only time to stop him from doing whatever it was he was doing with the Fire Daimyo's support.

"It's over Jinchuriki. We have won," stated Homura while Naruto just laughed.

"Hardly you old fossil. I am not defeated and I have successfully held my ground despite the overwhelming numbers against me," countered Naruto with Homura frowning angrily at him.

"Such naive hope in thinking that you will come out of this battle the victor. This is why you are defective as you are now. We will have to take special measure to ensure your mind does not think like that ever again," remarked Koharu, as she wanted the Jinchuriki to be in a constant state of depression, submissive to all commands, and believing that his life was worthless no matter what.

"Then come get me yourself. Don't send your pawns to do the dirty job that is treason for you. Of course, given how weak and frail you probably are, it is no surprise you don't have the skills to do anything outside of brushing your teeth, and wiping your own ass!" countered Naruto with Koharu bristling in rage at the disrespect.

"Rip out his tongue! A weapon does not have the right to have a voice or speak against its wielders!" commanded Koharu with Naruto smirking at her while making a "come and get me" hand motion...before turning it into flipping the bird.

If Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto was going down, he was going down smiling, and with as many of these bastards as possible.

Of course, before the remaining Root Shinobi could do as ordered, everyone felt the high level Genjutsu cast to keep this fight a secret was now broken, and one Senju Hashirama along with Tsunade made their appearance known. Neither looking happy.

"We were wondering why Naruto had not returned from dropping Danzo off to the T&I Department so we felt the need to investigate," remarked Hashirama while glancing at the Root Shinobi on the ground and waiting to attack.

"Hashirama-sensei, you do not understand we...," pleaded Homura, but was silenced by the cold glare sent his way by the former Shodaime Hokage.

"I understand enough. I understand you would usurp the current Fire Daimyo, pervert the Will of Fire, and you more then likely went along with the plan by your former teammate Hiruzen to have my Granddaughter kept under the Genjutsu to hate Naruto-kun here. I can also imagine you supported Danzo's desire to keep it locked in place with that seal his Root Nin was preparing when we interrupted him," said Hashirama while Homura and Koharu glancing at each other nervously.

"Bastards! Both of you! You speak of doing what is best for Konoha, but the whole time it was just for the select few like yourselves in power. You are just a bunch of fucking hypocrites!" exclaimed Tsunade while Hashirama put a hand on her shoulder.

"Language Tsunade. Just because you are a full grown adult doesn't mean I'll tolerate that kind of foul language while I'm around," scolded Hashirama while Naruto sweat dropped.

'Seriously? I've been fighting these guys in secret, revealed their treasonous actions, and the one thing he's frowning upon is Tsunade's choice of foul language?' thought Naruto while wondering what was wrong with his cousin clan.

Then again, Naruto was sure the Uzumaki Clan had problems too so he couldn't exactly be judgmental. Karin's temper at all things related to women having bigger breasts then her was one of them.

"The Will of Fire is for the elite of Konoha. Those who understand the power behind the flame. Who can wield it like a weapon. Everyone else is just wood and kindle to keep it alive. The citizens, the Shinobi, and even the clans regardless of their so called prestige are meant to be sacrificed to ensure the fire keeps burning. You and everyone else are to do your duty while we wield the power behind the flame and smite all of our enemies with it!" said Homura like he was reciting from some of religious text.

"That is not what the Will of Fire is you fool. _Never_, did I teach you, Hiruzen, or Koharu in that fashion. You twisted my teachings in order to justify your actions because you _knew_ that it was the only way to keep the concept of what you were doing to the village from being considered wrong by others. You never could stand the fact you could be wrong about something. Either of you," countered Hashirama while Homura, Koharu, and Danzo scowled at his accusations.

Even if they were true. Not that they would ever admit it.

"Your way of doing things is over sensei. The time has come for the Will of Fire to purge the enemies of Konoha from within and without. You are no longer worthy to wield the power of the flame. You must burn like everyone else," said Koharu while Hashirama slowly clenching his fists.

"If I'm not worthy, then why are your Root so afraid to finish me with their so called fire?" asked Hashirama while glancing at the clearly nervous Root Shinobi around them.

"What are you waiting for? Kill the two Senju!" commanded Koharu while the Root Shinobi around them hesitated in obeying.

"Foolish old bat. You really think these Root Shinobi are going to challenge one of the key _Founders_ of Konoha. Not only is it suicide on their part, but their deaths will just weaken Konoha, and the creed of Root clearly prevents them from doing something that would threaten Konoha's future. The lack of manpower for Konoha to defend itself due to the death of its ninja or being severely injured in a fight is one of those things," remarked Naruto while smirking at Danzo since the creed the war hawk used when forming it was both a strength and a weakness.

"You are a liar! Danzo has sent plenty of Root Shinobi on impossible missions and most never came back from them alive," countered Homura with Naruto smirking.

"True, but only because he had plenty of Shinobi to replace them at the time so ordering his Root Nin to march to their deaths wasn't an issue. Not so anymore. Konoha is being purged of this corrupt fire you, the old bitch, and old war hawk here have been trying to spread like a plague through Konoha. To put it simply, Konoha has become diseased with corruption, and the Fire Daimyo has assigned me to be the cure. Whether by cutting out the disease all together...or just burning the body to the ground and start from scratch with what is left that can be saved," answered Naruto with his eyes locked onto Homura's and making it known the order an all out burning of this village was on standby ready to be signed should it come to that.

"You're bluffing," was Homura's natural response to this claim despite his mind telling him denial of this fact wasn't going to help.

"Keep resisting and find out," countered Naruto while almost looking each to have them call his supposed bluff so it could blow up in their faces.

"The Genjutsu is lost. We need to retreat before ninja loyal to _them_ show up," whispered Koharu while glaring angrily at Naruto.

"If you are thinking about running along with your remaining Root Shinobi, don't bother trying," replied Hashirama before snapping his fingers and a swarm of Konoha Shinobi surrounded them along with a contingent of the Fire Daimyo's samurai coming out of the alleyways with swords drawn.

"So that's why it was taking you guys so long to get here while I was fighting," remarked Naruto with Hashirama smirking now along with his Granddaughter.

"I maybe a temporarily brought back to life Senju and a former Hokage of Konoha, but I'm not without my brains gaki," remarked Hashirama confidently.

"I can see your point. Arrest all of these Root Shinobi, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura for treason. If they resist, make them regret it," said Naruto with the Konoha Shinobi and the Fire Daimyo's samurai moved in to take them all into custody.

"I think you just made Ibiki's and Anko's day," remarked Tsunade while Naruto smirked since he knew the two were going to probably send him "Thank You!" cards for this.

"I do what I can when it matters," said Naruto though his smirk left him when he turned to fully face Tsunade.

"Listen...Naruto I just want to say...," said Tsunade before Naruto stopped her with his hand raised.

"You don't have to apologize Tsunade. People you trusted conspired against me and used you to be their pawn. You lived for over a decade in a Genjutsu reinforced lie. Knowing that truth and what could have been had that not been the case is punishment for you. I am not going to hate for what happened because that would be like how most of the villagers in Konoha hate me for something the Kyuubi did when under the Genjutsu the masked Uchiha pulled with his eyes," replied Naruto while seeing Tsunade sigh in relief at him letting things go.

"I would like to be your Godmother again Naruto. A true Godmother. Please grant me this honor Naruto," pleaded Tsunade before she did the one thing no one expected her to do when asking for this.

She got on her knees and bowed her head.

'Tsunade. To do what you are doing while asking for this takes courage. You truly are my Granddaughter,' thought Hashirama while smiling at his child's child.

"Get up Tsunade. No Godmother of mine is going to get on her knees and beg," replied Naruto with Tsunade looking at him with teary eyes and got off the ground.

"What do you want to do now Naruto-kun?" asked Hashirama while Naruto sighed, as he ran a hand through his hair, and looked at them.

"I'm not going to lie to you Hashirama-sama. Konoha was to be judged by me in terms of its survival. When I first came here after spending quite a few years being protected by the Fire Daimyo and being trained to be a combination of three different entities, Konoha was on life support. The people hated me, the Councils, and the Hokage wanted me under thumb. Hell, my first day back I stopped the rape being committed on the Inuzuka Clan Matriarch's daughter by a couple of Chuunin, and Jounin simply because they thought they could! As time past, I saw so much hatred, and corruption that I thought it would be a slam dunk decision to inform the Fire Daimyo to march his army in here to purge the village of almost everyone in it," replied Naruto with Hashirama frowning when he heard this and so did Tsunade since it was clear Konoha had lost a lot of its Will of Fire.

"I sense a 'but' in there somewhere," said Tsunade with Naruto nodding.

"_But_, I also saw light among the darkness. I saw a select number of people who were not corrupted like many had been around them. I saw kindness. I saw hope. I saw...I saw the Will of Fire in its purest form. If I gave the order to the Fire Daimyo to destroy this place, I would be destroying that purity, and cannot in good consciousness do that. I see a very slim chance of Konoha changing for the better. Over the years, this village has become arrogant, fat, and lazy off its own hype. The only way to trim the fat and whip Konoha back into shape is to humble the village regardless if they like it or not. Meaning it needs to take a hit every once in a while and this is one of those times," finished Naruto with Hashirama and Tsunade nodding.

"With everything that has happened recently just now, Itachi will need two new Shinobi Advisors to help him guide the village to that promise day," said Hashirama with Naruto nodding before they both looked at Tsunade.

"What? You mean me?! Oh no. No! No! I am _NOT_ Advisor material. Not with my track record," protested Tsunade with Naruto shaking his head at her.

"Who else? There are two spots now open. Why wouldn't you be one of them? Itachi will need someone to help him on internal matters through the village. You can do that while making sure your medical programs stays the course. As for the second option...Jiraiya will have to be the next one," said Naruto with Tsunade looking less then happy.

"Jiraiya?! That pervert?! He hated you before I did and his hatred wasn't caused by any Genjutsu from a Sharingan!" exclaimed Tsunade hotly while Naruto sighed.

"True, but after living these last couple of years in a humble, and hermit based lifestyle has done wonders for his mentality. Not to mention it was through his spy network that we were able to coordinate a counter offensive against Orochimaru and Hiruzen when they set their plan in motion. It took a major kick in the ass, but the man has definitely seen the light. Will I ever call him Godfather in my lifetime? Probably not. But he does care about Konoha. Granted his actions in proving it were misplaced thanks to the Third Hokage being a power hungry asshole. Sorry Hashirama-sama, but it is true. I also firmly believe Jiraiya's talents could be useful in helping Itachi with external matters because he can run his spy network easily enough to provide our new Hokage with Intel in order to run the village better. To ensure this works properly, he will need to properly train a new Spy Master, who goes out into the field, and communicates with those spies. It will take time and effort, but I'm confident this will help Konoha prosper, and become what it once was during Hashirama's time," countered Naruto with Tsunade reluctantly admitting to herself that Jiraiya's talents were second to none and could be a serious benefit to Konoha if used correctly.

"Fine! But if that pervert tries anything, I reserve the right to deck his face in, and send him flying out of the meeting room," stated Tsunade with Naruto smirking.

"Fair enough," replied Naruto since Tsunade's stipulation wasn't too bad.

"Excellent! Now that this issue has been resolved, let's do an inspection of Konoha, and see what else needs to be fixed and was ignored under my former student's watch as its Hokage," said Hashirama before wrapping his arms around both ninja and walked them around Konoha while Tsunade looked embarrassed by his antics.

"Honestly Grandfather, you are too cheery for your own good," remarked Tsunade while her Grandfather now had a semi-evil look in his eyes.

"Oh really? Maybe I should tell Naruto here how you made your very first bet and lost at the age of eight. What was it you lost that day? Your favorite slug plushy Mrs. Wheezy Squeeze?" questioned Hashirama while Tsunade blushed an atomic red and glared at him for it.

"Don't you dare mention that!" exclaimed Tsunade before Hashirama ran away from her with Naruto under his arm while telling the tale of how she made and lost her first bet.

"Oh you should have seen Tsunade's face Naruto-kun. She was so upset at losing her favorite slug plushy. She cried and cried. Balling her eyes out and saying 'I want Mrs. Wheezy Squeeze!' to me since I was the one she lost the bet too. Little did I know the _reason _she was so upset over losing said plushy was due to the secret stash of money she had been hording there over the past couple weeks from my own wallet," said Hashirama while running away from a now angry Tsunade and explaining things to Naruto.

"GET BACK HERE! YOU MAYBE MY GRANDFATHER, BUT THAT WON'T STOP ME FROM KILLING YOU AFTER I'M DONE KICKING YOUR BACK FROM THE DEAD ASS!" yelled Tsunade, as she chased after them with fury, and fire in her eyes with the promise of unleashing pain upon her Grandfather.

"Don't listen to her Naruto. She's still upset I never gave back Mrs. Wheezy Squeeze after all this time. Did I mention Tsunade-chan slept with said plushy and would drool all over it? The poor thing was more soaked then dry on many occasions!" exclaimed Hashirama before he dodged a lamp post Tsunade had just thrown at him.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" yelled Tsunade before throwing more things at her Grandfather.

'Yep! I knew it. My cousin clan is just as screwed up as my own clan. It is how you can tell we are related. I can't wait to get out of this situation and go see Gaara along with his sister at the Namikaze Estates to fix his seal. I just hope Temari and Karin haven't killed each other. Or Gaara hasn't killed anyone,' thought Naruto knowing this was going to be a long chase and day of his life.

(A/N: YAY! Another chapter done for my glorious fans. Hope you liked it. As you can see Konoha is going through some changes and there is a lot left to take care of before things can calm down. I also added that last part to make things more humor filled since I was making this story a tad too serious. So I figured I'd get in a small jab at Tsunade's expense with that last part. Hope you liked it. Until next time...PEACE!)


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